Two weeks later the start of Operation Epic Fury against IranMany questions remain unanswered, but one thing is clear: President Donald Trump has not gotten the war he wanted. His statements in recent days, which have suggested that he had won the warThese measures are intended to calm financial markets and prepare public opinion for a withdrawal. However, it will not be easy. "We will be the ones to determine when the war ends," they retorted defiantly to the Revolutionary Guard, the regime's praetorian guard, a clear indication that the ayatollahs' regime does not feel defeated.

As the first week of the war comes to a close, Donald Trump declared on Saturday that Iran "is the loser of the Middle East" and threatened the Persian nation with "total destruction," promising it "a massive blow" in a message on his social media platform, Truth Social. The statements were a response to a communiqué from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had announced an end to attacks against neighboring Arab monarchies and apologized. Instead of interpreting it as a gesture of de-escalation, Trump framed it as a sign of surrender. "Iran, which we will beat to hell, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle Eastern neighbors, and promised not to shoot them anymore," he wrote before predicting a "total collapse of the regime." Trump then asserted that 42 military ships, the Iranian air force, and the telecommunications system had been destroyed, and declared that he would not stop until he achieved the "unconditional surrender of the regime." Israel, for its part, has announced yet another wave of attacks against Iranian infrastructure. Pezeshkian retorted that "unconditional surrender is a dream that will lead them to their graves."

Iran has entered its fifteenth day of protests with the streets still ablaze and communications virtually cut off. Since Friday, the country has been under a digital blackout that blocks internet access and even phone calls and SMS messages. However, videos from cities like Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, and Qom, which managed to circumvent censorship, show crowds returning every night, burning cars, and massively deployed security forces.

The reservoirs that supply water to Tehran, the capital of Iran, are on the verge of drying up. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned in July that the capital could run out of reserves by September or October if water consumption is not drastically reduced. The situation is critical in a city of more than 9 million inhabitants, the capital of a province totaling nearly 14 million.

"Tonight we're going somewhere special. You can't bring your camera, but it'll be worth it. You'll see the new Iran," a friend told me four years ago, the last time I was there. for the presidential elections, which was won by the ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi. The place in question was a semi-clandestine bar, a two-level basement accessed by a narrow staircase. It was full of young men dressed in Western style and smoking. But what was most surprising was that most of the women were not wearing the chador on their heads.