‘Ticking timebomb’: Tehran residents return to ruined city amid fears truce will not hold

Many in the Iranian capital feel trapped between war with the US and the brutality of the regime’s repression Like many in Tehran, Mehdi, 36, an IT professional, had fled the capital in the early days of the war to stay with relatives in the north. Returning to the city, he was confronted by bombed-out buildings, debris and rubble still scattered across the roads. His home has been damaged by the blasts, the glass shattered and bedroom window frames blown out.