The Documentary Podcast · BBC World Service

Iran war: What's life like inside Iran?

·30 min·2 clips

Iranians pay $6 per gigabyte for Starlink internet, risking two years in prison just to connect with the outside world.

Host Faranak Amidi of the BBC World Service Fifth Floor podcast brings together three Iranian journalists to discuss the human reality inside Iran during an ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against the country. BBC Persian reporters Taraneh Fatalyan and Ghunche Habibzadeh explain the severe communications blackout, with the regime having shut down internet since the war began, making it extremely expensive and dangerous to use Starlink, which is being shared by tech-savvy individuals for one million toman per gigabyte. Iranian state media controls the domestic information environment by jamming satellite signals to prevent BBC Persian and independent media from reaching citizens, while surveillance apps monitor domestic communications. Media monitor Sarbas Nazari describes how the regime uses the shutdown to suppress information showing humiliation of IRGC targets and to prevent citizen documentation of strikes. Over 1,200 civilian deaths have been reported, including 168 children killed at a girls school in Minab, with missile strikes hitting homes, hospitals, airports, and oil facilities alongside military targets. The polarization of Iranian public opinion is stark, with some Iranians telling the BBC they would rather die by American bombs than in an Iranian regime prison, while others fear the U.S. will fail to finish the job and leave them exposed to an even more hardened regime. The January protests in which thousands were killed are fresh in memory, deterring many from returning to the streets. Kurdish political groups, who make up over 10 percent of the Iranian population, have formed a coalition of five parties calling for regime end but express deep skepticism about being abandoned by the West as has happened historically. New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, the son of Ali Khamenei who was killed on day one, is largely unknown publicly but has vowed to control the Strait of Hormuz and avenge those killed. Tone is journalistic, careful, and emotionally present. Best suited for listeners following the Iran conflict with interest in ground-level civilian and media perspectives.

As heard by us

A sober look at war in Iran, centered on the people trying to make sense of it.

The episode follows the war in Iran through fear, silence, and the polarization it has stirred. It is at its best when it stays close to BBC Persian journalists and the people they are trying to hear from, including those who worry that sharing information could be read as…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a BBC World Service documentary that pieces together what the war between Israel and Iran looks like inside Iran.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Documentary Podcast