Extract from ABC News
A woman walks next to an anti-US mural on a street in Tehran. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)
When Yasna first heard the news of a ceasefire in her country, Iran, she didn't believe it.
"Is this real? Have the bombs stopped?" she asked ABC News in a message sent at roughly 3am, Tehran time, wanting outside confirmation of the news that was spreading through Iranian state media.
Yasna — not her real name — lives in Tehran, where internet and phone connectivity has been mostly blocked by the regime since the war began.
Many Iranians do not trust their own media, which is run by the state, and it is difficult to get news from the outside world.
As the ABC told her the details contained in US President Donald Trump's social media post, that a two-week truce had been agreed to, Yasna was still sceptical.
"We don't trust America," she said.
"We know the war is not finished yet, so basically we are living in limbo.
"I'm not happy, but I can't give you my precise point of view right now because I am dizzy."
While the news of a ceasefire had been cautiously welcomed around the world, people inside Iran have told ABC News that both supporters and opponents of the regime are unhappy.
Regime supporters, they say, believe the Islamic Republic should have tried to inflict more damage on the United States and Israel before agreeing to a truce.
Opponents of the regime, however, want the United States to deliver on its apparent promises to topple the theocracy before trying to end the war.
"He [Mr Trump] was supposed to save us and help us get rid of this regime," Malek, who lives in Tehran, told the ABC.
"But now he has left us with a wounded, wild, and deranged regime."
Upset by the ceasefire
It's incredibly difficult to speak with people inside Iran and learn how ordinary citizens are feeling.
If people can get around the internet blackout, through external sim cards or satellites for example, they risk arrest — or worse — if they are caught.
Speaking with Western journalists, especially to criticise the Iranian regime, is a crime that can be punishable by death.
But based on messages from brave contacts inside Iran, whose names have been changed for their protection, many Iranians feel abandoned by the United States.
Malek said there was a sense of relief inside the country since the bombs had stopped.
But, asked if people were happy, he had a surprising answer.
"It's interesting that after the ceasefire almost everyone here is upset — both opponents of the regime and its supporters," he said.
"Supporters of the Islamic Republic are angry, saying, 'You were supposed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. Why did you reopen it? Why close it in the first place?'
"They say we've suffered so many casualties and destructions, and we must take revenge.
"Many of them also argue that the US and Israel have betrayed us multiple times, attacking Iran even during negotiations, so we shouldn't have been deceived again.
"At the same time, ordinary people and regime opponents are deeply upset.
"Many are angry at Trump, saying he broke his promise."
A child walks next to an anti-Israeli mural on a street in Tehran. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)
Fear of future under regime
In the months before the war, Mr Trump had promised Iranian citizens who had been threatened, beaten and even killed for protesting against the regime, that "help is on its way".
Regime opponents had hoped the war would result in the regime's downfall and an end to its four-decade tyrannical and oppressive rule.
Middle East military and political analysts also think that same view and objective was a major motivator in Israel and America's intent to launch the war.
As the first bombs were dropped in Iran, anti-regimists were buoyed by the assassination of the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and many of his senior political and military leaders.
But the regime reacted quickly to cement its stability by electing a new leader, reorganising its ranks, and launching a damaging military assault on Israel and US allies in the Gulf.
Six weeks later, the regime, while now weakened, is still in control.
Malek said people who had been fighting for regime change felt betrayed by the US and fearful of the future.
"We're not going to see freedom anytime soon,"he said.
"If this regime stays in power, life will remain extremely harsh. They will take revenge on people."
A woman from Tehran, Fatima, said there was a growing fear the regime would now crack down harder on any dissent as it rebuilt its authority.
"The streets are full of checkpoints," she said.
"They shelter under bridges, block people's paths and create long traffic jams.
"They stop young people's cars and check their phones, pretending to apologise, then inspecting the phones from top to bottom.
"Despite all this, we remain hopeful. We wait and we will strive for light to triumph over darkness."
No trust in ceasefire
Several people inside Iran also said claims of a "victory" in this war — from both the Iranian regime and the United States — were a farce.
"There is no victory," Salim told the ABC from Tehran.
"I believe this ceasefire, this period of calm, would be sweet only if it leads to the change that people have been seeking, which is getting rid of the ayatollahs and the Islamic Republic," he said.
"No matter what happens, they will still claim to be [the] victorious party.
"I mean, they lose their supreme leader, they lose high-ranking commanders, officials, and they claim victory.
"Even though a lot of innocent people have been killed, they will still claim to be victorious."
An anti-US mural on a building in Tehran. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)
Malek also said that while the regime was claiming victory because of the truce, he believed it had no choice.
"In my view, they had to accept the ceasefire because they've been severely weakened. So many commanders, senior officials, and the leaders have been killed," he said.
"Khamenei's body has been kept in a morgue for weeks! Their claim of victory is a lie."
Regime supporters have not responded to questions from ABC News.
During the next two weeks of the temporary truce, mediators will be working behind the scenes to secure a long-lasting peace deal.
But people like Malek don't trust America or Israel, and think the fighting will soon resume.
He says he feels caught between war and peace, with no certainty for the future.
"People are exhausted and completely drained," Malek said.
"I don't believe this war is over just because of the ceasefire. Not at all. Didn't America attack Iran during negotiations last time?
"The US will likely violate the ceasefire again.
"This war had no good consequences for ordinary people."
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