Iran Executes Three Men Accused of Unrest and Espionage

"...as the country absorbs the shock of conflict, economic strain and uncertainty..."

"...pain visible in every still movement..."

"...you would not necessarily know it..."

"...you just have to get through the day..."

"...nothing surprises us anymore after January..."

"...it doesn’t even add anger or hatred..."

"...it is hard to add to something that already feels complete..."

"...people do feel it..."

"...you get sad, you curse the rulers..."

"...but then you go back to your life, as helpless as the day before..."

"...a message that requires no elaboration..."

"...if you come out into the streets, you may be shot; if you are arrested, you may not return..."

"...the same system shows itself capable of patience and negotiation when dealing with its external adversaries..."

"...after months of war, after airstrikes and the killing of senior commanders..."

"...officials are willing to sit across the table from those they describe as enemies..."

"...debating terms, exchanging proposals and searching for a settlement..."

"...I’m not into politics, but even I can see they pursue a deal with Trump because it can consolidate their power..."

"...a conversation at home would do the opposite..."

"...to engage openly with dissent would mean acknowledging it as something real..."

"...something that cannot simply be dismissed or suppressed..."

"...it would mean accepting a form of legitimacy that the system has long refused to grant..."

"...negotiation with those who bombed the country, but no dialogue with those who live in it..."

"...the executions continue quietly, steadily, almost routinely..."

"...even as the country absorbs war, economic strain and isolation..."

"...each case briefly punctures the surface, then recedes into the background of a society that has learned, out of necessity, to carry on..."