SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Three weeks ago today, the U.S. and Israel began to strike Iran. Since then, they have killed several of Iran's most senior leaders, and Iran and its proxy groups have struck back in Israel and across the region. Iranian media says today that Israel has also struck its Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, though Israel tells NPR it is not aware of these strikes. NPR's Emily Feng is on the border between Iran and Turkey. Emily, thanks so much for being with us.
EMILY FENG, BYLINE: It's great to be with you, Scott.
SIMON: Twenty-second day of this war. Tell us what Iranians you're meeting there at the border have been telling you about what they've been going through.
FENG: So we met dozens of these people yesterday. And this border's beautiful, Scott. There are snowy mountains. There are blue lakes. But the Iranians we were meeting there, fleeing war, had come with terrible stories, like this man who we talked to just minutes after he'd crossed. And like everyone we spoke with, he didn't want to give his name. He's planning to go back to Iran where he's afraid of being arrested for speaking with foreign media.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
FENG: He told us he stands shoulder to shoulder with Israel and the U.S. in attacking Iran's government. But people, including him, have said that - he said that they - he's accepted he might die as well from this bombing. And when he said that to me, he paused, Scott, like he almost couldn't believe what he was saying out loud, because like so many Iranians we met, he feels really torn. There are people who are against the bombing, and we met some of these Iranians yesterday. But many Iranians tell us that while it is anguishing for them to see innocent civilians killed, it is even more anguishing for them to live under the current regime.
SIMON: We have noted that Israel has succeeded in killing several of Iran's most senior officials this week, including its security chief. How well have those attacks been at sparing civilians?
FENG: So the problem is there is a near-total communications blackout in Iran. We've been able to speak to some Iranians in and out of the country. They tell us they're experiencing total uncertainty and thus fear about where these strikes are going to fall. Human rights groups have counted a range of civilian deaths - on the lower end, around 600 civilians killed, to over 1,300 civilians killed, according to another estimate. That's closer to the more recent death toll reported by the Iranian Red Crescent. But these updates are really sporadic, and so it's challenging, Scott, to know the full scale of civilian deaths in Iran.
SIMON: And what do Iranians tell you about their day-to-day lives?
FENG: People - and this might be surprising to listeners. People are still trying to live life as normal, but the country is heavily securitized. Five Iranians we spoke to this week said there were a ton of new checkpoints run by the Basij paramilitary group in Iran. Israel says it is striking dozens of these new checkpoints. But those strikes? They're killing security officials. They're also killing civilians.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
FENG: So I spoke to this Iranian man. He told us his 26-year-old cousin was among civilians killed. This man himself had just left Iran about a week before for Turkey, where I am. And he showed me these oil stains on his jacket, which he said were from fallout when Israel struck Iranian oil depots in early March that then sent flaming oil droplets in the air. And he says his cousin, who died, had risked his life protesting against the government in Iran in January. He himself wants this government to fall, but he acknowledges the cost is so painfully high. And so you see these really painful choices that Iranians are grappling with, including the question of whether this war is going to be worth the many, many deaths of people they love around them.
SIMON: NPR's Emily Feng. Thanks so much for being with us.
FENG: Thanks, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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