Tehran quake stirs dark humor, hopes for renewed strikes
A series of tremors in and around Tehran late Tuesday stirred shock, dark humor and political despair among residents, with some initially mistaking them for renewed US-Israeli strikes.
A series of tremors in and around Tehran late Tuesday stirred shock, dark humor and political despair among residents, with some initially mistaking them for renewed US-Israeli strikes.
On Tuesday night, Iran’s Seismological Center said a 4.6-magnitude quake struck near Pardis, east of Tehran, at a depth of 10 kilometers, with no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. A series of nine smaller earthquakes also struck the area overnight.
“This is what life is like for us inside Iran: an earthquake happens and my mother says, ‘I wish it were bombing instead.’ The result of 47 years of Islamic rule,” one message sent to Iran International said.
The reactions came against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire after more than two months of war that began on February 28 with a US-Israeli bombing campaign on Iran.
Donald Trump said Monday that the ceasefire with Iran was “on life support” after rejecting Tehran’s response to a US proposal aimed at ending the war.
The ceasefire has been in place since April 7, but Trump has repeatedly threatened to end it if Iran failed to reach an agreement with Washington.
One message captured the bitter humor with which some residents viewed the quake amid fears of renewed conflict, suggesting divine intervention had stepped in where Trump had not.
“Trump dragged this out so much that God stepped in,” the message said.
Several residents said they initially mistook the shaking for renewed strikes.
“The earthquake at 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday in Tehran was really terrifying. For a few seconds, we thought the attacks had started again,” one Tehran resident said.
Another resident in eastern Tehran’s Tehranpars district said the tremor felt like a nearby missile strike.
“We are in eastern Tehran, in Tehranpars. Tuesday night’s earthquake shook and rattled our house so badly that we thought a missile had hit next to our home,” the resident said.
Several messages described the tremors as reviving memories of the recent war, when residents had become used to distinguishing between air defense fire, missiles, drones and explosions.
“Around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, an earthquake was felt in Tehran, but the one that came at 11:45 p.m. was felt very strongly. The whole house shook and the chandeliers rattled. It felt like the experience we had during those 40 days of war,” one message said.
Another resident said the earthquake and the sound of a storm afterward produced conflicting emotions.
“When the earthquake happened and then the sound of the storm afterward, we thought we were under attack again. We felt fear and relief at the same time,” the resident said.
In Pardis, east of Tehran, residents reported repeated tremors through the night.
“In Pardis, from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m., there were three relatively strong earthquakes. People rushed into the streets in fear and gas stations became crowded,” one message said.
One resident said a sudden dust storm added to the confusion.
“We were sitting at home, the weather was nice, and suddenly the air became extremely dusty and the sky filled with dirt and dust. Even though the war experience has taught us to distinguish between air defense fire, missiles and drones — or judge from the sound and shaking how close an explosion is — when the earthquake happened, for a few seconds we could not tell whether it was an attack or something else,” the resident said.
Other messages reflected mistrust and speculation about whether the tremors were linked to underground missile activity or even a possible nuclear test near Parchin.
“Could the earthquake have been caused by the criminals’ underground missile activities? Especially considering Tehran naturally sits on a fault line and their underground activities were exposed during the war,” one person said.
Another message said there was speculation online that the quake’s epicenter near Parchin meant Iran may have carried out a nuclear test rather than experienced a natural earthquake.
One message accused state television of failing to quickly cover the earthquake because authorities feared people would pour into the streets.
“State TV was not covering the earthquake because they were afraid people would pour into the streets. Human lives are so worthless to them as long as they can stay in power a little longer,” the message said.
The man, identified by the pseudonym “Nima,” told the newspaper he reported the incident to British police after returning to the UK and warned the journalist, who works for a Persian-language broadcaster.
Nima, who has lived in Britain for about a decade and works as a bartender, said the encounter began during a holiday in southern Europe, where he visited an Iranian restaurant and met two men, including one he recognized from Iran.
The man initially discussed plans to open a bar in London and asked for Nima’s contact details, presenting the approach as a business proposal, according to the report.
Alleged murder proposal
Nima said a second meeting took a darker turn when the man arrived with two others and began referring to personal details about his life in Britain and relatives in Iran.
“He told me: ‘You are a decent man. You have family in Iran who need your support. I would like to offer you a job, with an initial payment of £40,000,’” Nima told the Jewish Chronicle.
According to the report, the man referred to an Iranian journalist in London with whom Nima had argued online and said he wanted to “punish” him, asking whether Nima could carry out the act or find someone else to do so.
Nima said he was offered 20,000 pounds in cash immediately and the remaining amount after identifying the journalist’s location. He said the men appeared to believe the journalist lived in a safe house.
The suspected operative did not directly identify himself as an IRGC member, Nima said, but an acquaintance suggested he held influence in Iran and referred to “Sepah” - the Persian name for the IRGC –while discussing possible help for Nima’s family.
Security concerns in Britain
The alleged approach comes amid heightened concern in Britain over Iranian-linked threats targeting dissidents, journalists and Jewish institutions.
Iran-aligned group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia has said it carried out attacks on Jewish sites in Britain and Europe, including incidents involving two north London synagogues last month.
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum has warned repeatedly that Iran, acting through the IRGC, poses what he described as a “potentially lethal” threat in Britain. British authorities have disrupted multiple alleged Iran-linked plots since 2022 targeting dissidents, journalists and Jewish or Israeli-linked individuals, according to British officials.
The case against him stemmed from his poetry, political writings and protest activities, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center said, citing sources close to his family, who also said he had not taken part in any armed activities.
The US-based group said former cellmates reported torture during interrogation, the destruction of some of his handwritten poems and denial of full medical care despite serious health problems.
Farahavar, a 37-year-old father from Iran’s northern province of Gilan, was sentenced to death on accusations of “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi) and “enmity against God” (moharebeh) by a Revolutionary Court in Rasht.
Farahavar was arrested in Rasht in September 2024 and later transferred to Lakan Prison after being held at an Intelligence Ministry detention center, the group said.
Iran has been carrying out near-daily executions, which has raised fears for detainees believed to be facing the death penalty over January’s anti-government protests, as well as prisoners accused of espionage during the war with the United States and Israel.
The unsigned notices asked recipients to provide personal details including home and work addresses, bank account information, images of bank cards and links to all their social media accounts.
They were also instructed to sign handwritten pledges not to publish content deemed harmful to the country’s “psychological, social or political security.”
The notices warned that users’ activities were being monitored through “smart surveillance and artificial intelligence systems” and said repeated violations could lead to judicial action and heavier punishment.
Some citizens were further instructed to publish at least 20 posts supporting the Islamic Republic on social media and send evidence that the posts had been uploaded.
Pressure campaigns expand online
The demands mark the latest effort by Iranian authorities to tighten control over online activity following waves of dissent and criticism on social media over the past year.
Recipients were told not to publish all pro-government posts in a single day “to make the activity appear natural,” according to the messages.
Some were also ordered to attend nighttime government rallies that began after US and Israeli attacks earlier this year and continued after a ceasefire took hold. Participants were instructed to photograph themselves carrying Islamic Republic flags or images of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
In several cases, authorities requested identification documents from a guarantor who would accept responsibility for any future “criminal activity” by the targeted individual.
In August 2025, many Iranians wrote on social media that their SIM cards had been abruptly disconnected without warning or court orders after they published critical posts online, particularly in the aftermath of the 12-day war.
Some said security bodies contacted them through the domestic messaging platform Eitaa and told them to meet a series of demands or report to entities including the Prosecutor’s Office cyber division to regain access.
During those visits, citizens said they were ordered to submit copies of their national ID cards and sign written pledges promising to stop critical online activity.
Similar measures were reported in October 2024, when journalists and political activists said security bodies blocked their SIM cards, forced them to delete posts and ordered them to publish content that contradicted their views.
