An Iranian citizen claims the Islamic Republic didn’t build shelters for airstrikes because residents are expected to tough through the bombings and “enjoy martyrdom.”
While Israelis have a plethora of public bomb shelters to help weather the storm of attacks from Tehran, Iranians claim that not only is their infrastructure lacking, but there is also a “culture of martyrdom” that keeps them from seeking refuge.
“In this society, going to the shelters when there is a jet fighting or looming [airstrike] around it indicates you’re chicken-hearted,” an Iranian journalist told the BBC’s Global News Podcast. “So you should [be] brave and brace for the bombardments and enjoy martyrdom.”
To this point, Iran has yet to officially shut down any businesses despite the escalating attacks from Israel and Tehran officials repeatedly stating that the nation is at war.
The reporter, speaking under the condition of anonymity, said the best people can hope for is to hide in their own basements due to the lack of public shelters.
People also have the option of hiding out in Tehran’s subways, “but subways are not open to the people after 10:30 [p.m.],” the journalist pointed out.
The problem goes further as citizens in Tehran told the British outlet that they’re still expected to commute to work amid the attacks between Israel and Iran, with many people having no idea where and when the attacks will come.
The Israeli military, which sent out evacuation orders for all civilians to leave military sites, has offered no help either, residents claim.
“How are we supposed to know where a military site is and where isn’t?” one person living in Tehran told the BBC.
“I can’t just leave Tehran. I can’t leave my elderly parents who can’t travel far and long and leave the city myself,” another resident said. “Besides, I need to show up to work. What can I do now?”
Despite the culture in place, some Iranians have decided to flee the capital and head to the rural north, with the widespread evacuation creating gridlock out of the city on Sunday, according to local reports.
Tehran’s City Council Chairman Mehdi Charman said the city was looking for alternatives to help residents over the lack of bomb shelters, with the city ordering the subway system to remain open 24 hours a day to provide citizens shelter.
“Unfortunately, we in Tehran and in our other cities do not have shelters,” he told reporters Sunday.
Iran’s Ministry of Health said at least 128 people have been killed and more than 900 injured since Israel launched its preemptive attack against Tehran on Friday.
The retaliatory attacks against the Jewish state have killed at least 14 people in Israel, according to the IDF.