DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) — Iranians striving to maintain a semblance of normal life after weeks of US and Israeli bombing and a deadly crackdown on protesters in January remain daunted by the future, as damage from airstrikes and internet cuts take a toll.

With Iran and the US wrangling over a truce extension and an agreement to end the conflict, shops, restaurants, and government offices have stayed open. On sunny spring mornings, city parks are busy with family picnics and young people playing sports, while others gather at streetside cafes.

But behind such peaceful scenes, Iran’s economy is in tatters; people are fearful of a new government clampdown and angry about the destructive airstrikes.

The difficulties that spurred mass unrest in January look likely to worsen.

Talks in Islamabad this month — the first direct negotiations between the United States and Iran in years — ended without an agreement. But with the current fragile ceasefire due to end on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his envoys would head to Pakistan and were prepared to hold more talks with Iran. Israel has not been represented at the talks so far, as Pakistan has no diplomatic ties with Jerusalem and does not recognize its sovereignty.

Fear of increased pressure as theocracy endures

“The war will end, but that’s when our real problems with the system begin. I’m very afraid that if the regime reaches an agreement with the United States, it will increase pressure on ordinary people,” a 37-year-old named Fariba, who took part in the January unrest, told Reuters by phone from Iran.

“People have not forgotten the regime’s crimes in January, and the system has not forgotten that people do not want it. They are holding back now because they don’t want to fight on a domestic front as well,” she said.

The bombing has killed thousands, according to official death tolls, including many at a school on the first day of the conflict.

It has also destroyed infrastructure across the country, raising the prospect of mass job layoffs.

Iran’s revolutionary theocracy looks........

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