Anxiety bites in Iran and Israel as Trump and the Ayatollah appear to dig their heels in

Iranians are anxious  as the standoff between President Trump and Iran‘s rulers escalates. There’s anxiety, too, in Israel, along with preparation. But some Iranians speaking to CBS News have voiced not only nervousness, but hope that Mr. Trump will make good on his repeated promises to help them change their circumstances. 

As at least 10 U.S. warships — including an aircraft carrier and at least five destroyers — were heading toward Iran’s coastal waters on Friday, diplomatic efforts by other regional powers to pull Washington and Tehran back from the brink of a military clash appear to be making slow progress, if any.

Mr. Trump told CBS News’ Jennifer Jacobs on Thursday night that he’d had conversations with Iran over the last few days, and that he planned to have more, adding: “We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them.”

“I told them two things,” Mr. Trump said about his contacts with Iran. “Number one, no nuclear. And number two, stop killing protesters.”

CBS News has sought clarification from the White House about any ongoing direct negotiations between the Trump administration and Tehran.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted earlier this week by state media as saying he had had no contact with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days, though he said the two sides remained in touch through intermediaries. The Swiss embassy in Tehran, along with mediators including Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have facilitated communications between Iran and the U.S.

Iran’s leaders have long said they’re open to direct negotiations with the U.S., but that the country won’t engage in talks while Washington is threatening military action unless Tehran agrees to preconditions. Tehran has also refused to accept a ban on uranium enrichment within its borders — for what it claims is an entirely peaceful nuclear program — or constraints on its non-nuclear ballistic missile program.

With neither side offering any concessions, publicly at least, Iranians are left to wait, and to try to prepare for a possible new military confrontation with a superpower. And they’re doing it under extraordinary circumstances, even for a country where life has been difficult for decades.

Most Iranians take Mr. Trump’s threats seriously, but communicating with the outside world, and even inside their country, is incredibly difficult right now. Since the Iranian government launched a crackdown to quash protests that rocked the country for two weeks in early January, internet and phone connections have been largely blocked. 

As Trump threatens Iran with “major destruction,” many people in Tehran have been  stockpiling whatever basic goods they can. But that’s harder than ever. Store shelves are fully stocked, but already-severe sanctions, ramped up by Mr. Trump, have mired Iran in an economic crisis that has sent prices soaring.

Record-high inflation and a stunning depreciation of the local currency mean even Iranians with stable jobs can barely afford essentials. The government, grappling for liquidity, has also steadily hiked the cost of public services and utilities. 

So for many, many Iranians, just putting food on the table, let alone stockpiling it, has become a struggle. 

Nahid, 25, told CBS News she earned a college degree, but is working in a Tehran coffee shop  on a low wage and living with her parents, “because I don’t earn enough to live separately.”

“I see that my father has been buying food and other necessities and is advising the whole family to be prepared for much more difficult days,” she said Thursday. 

“I don’t want America coming and liberating us, because it is the job of our own people,” she said. “But I want President Trump to stand behind what he already has said — that if the regime kills people … he will intervene and help Iranians. He should at least keep his word, otherwise the Iranian people will remember him as a liar.”

Tehran taxi driver Mohammed, 35, told CBS News he’s struggling to provide for his wife and two young children as the dire economy and recent unrest on the capital’s streets have dried up business, halving his income.

“I want President Trump to fulfill his promise to the Iranian people, when he told the protesters to keep up, as help is on the way,” he said. “People who protested on the streets were peaceful and did not have any arms, but the police and Basij [paramilitary] forces violently attacked people and shot many defenseless people.”

But there are some Iranians who remain, like their leaders, publicly defiant, and insist that America — with its thousands of troops based across the region, in reach of Iranian missiles — would pay a steep price for any attack ordered by President Trump.

“The U.S. cannot do any damn thing,” said Hai Morteza Armani, 67, a merchant in Tehran’s sprawling central bazaar who described himself to CBS News as a devout Muslim and supporter of the government.

“President Trump has said a lot of nonsense that he has forgotten the next day, and these recent comments of his against the Islamic Republic of Iran are just baseless threats,” he declared. “If the Americans do any harm to our leader, then we will kill as many American soldiers as possible, and they know about our missile capabilities and are afraid of it. That is why they will not do anything.”

Mr. Trump did order military action against Iran only seven months ago, however, joining Israel as it fought a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic, and ordering strikes against three of the country’s most sensitive nuclear facilities

In Israel, rumors of war

Memories of that war are still fresh on Israeli minds, and the exchange of threats between Tehran and Washington has renewed the sense of anxiety and put people on alert. 

While Israel’s air defenses proved incredibly effective during that war, Israelis were driven by air raid sirens to take shelter countless times, and fear of another round of confrontation has grown over the past couple weeks.

The governments of Israel and Iran have long considered each other arch enemies, and most Israelis reserve their ire for the regime in Tehran. There was a lot of sympathy in the country for the protesters in Iran, and President Trump’s promise to go after the Islamic Republic’s rulers and protect the Iranian population was met in Israel with considerable support.

As the U.S. warships approach, Israeli media headlines have focused for weeks on the prospect of a new U.S. attack on Iran — and the likelihood that it would bear the brunt of Tehran’s retaliation as America’s closest ally in the region.

Some municipalities have already announced the reopening of public bomb shelters. Several airlines have canceled flights to Israel, and hotels report tourists canceling bookings. People are stocking up on food and bottled water.

But there have been no special instructions yet from the government or the Home Front Command, which sends out alerts to citizens based on real-time threat assessments from Israeli security services. 

In the absence of such clear instructions, and as the rhetoric from both Mr. Trump and Iranian officials are characteristically high on drama but low on detail, rumors spread quickly in Israel. Everyone seems to know someone who knows someone who “knows something.” 

Daily conversations among Israelis often revolve around claims of some knowledge about a U.S. strike coming in hours, or days, or debates over whether vacations and other events should be postponed. 

But nobody, in Tehran or Tel Aviv, really knows what’s coming.