Catalina Gomez spent several months in Iran during the war. Here’s what she saw there

Colombian journalist Catalina Gomez has been living in Tehran since 2007. She first came to Iran driven by her fascination with the Middle East. Her main specialization is reporting frommilitary conflicts across the region. Gomez also covered several presidential elections in Iran as well as the mass protests during Iran’s Green Movement in 2009. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the journalist began traveling regularly to the front line to report and has periodically lived in Kyiv.On the first day of the U.S. and Israeli military operation against Iran, Gomez was leaving Ukraine and waitingfor her passport in Poland. After receiving her documents, she flew to Turkey, which shares a long land border with Iran. From there, she entered Iran by car and reached Tehran on the third day of the war.In Tehran, Gomez witnessed people living in constant fear. Numerous strikes targeting military bases, policeforces, paramilitary groups, and facilities connected to Iran’s nuclear program were also affecting ordinary residential neighborhoods. Military commanders and people associated with the regime were also being targeted, while no one trulyknew who their neighbors were or what was happening in the building next door. Iranians received almost no guidance on how to behave during attacks, including drone strikes.As a result, Catalina Gomez found herself explaining what drones sound like, what dangers they pose, and how people could protect themselves and their loved ones during drone attacks. She even wrote on social media that this was the very nightmare Ukrainians have been living through since the start of the full-scale invasion — including because of Iranian-made Shahed drones.Journalist Angelina Kariakina speaks with Catalina Gomez about the lives of ordinary Iranians during the current war, changing public moods, perceptions of the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, attitudes toward Donald Trump, women appearing without hijabs and jogging in leggings, the current state of Iran’s nuclear program, and the drone industry linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Do you like our podcast? Support the Public Interest Journalism Lab with a Donationhttps://www.journlab.online/donations