Before the War Breaks Out in Iran, People Are Full of Curiosity About the World

Tension and curiosity

It has been reported that a potential war involving the United States, Israel and Iran could erupt in 2026. The prospect has sharpened attention inside Iran (伊朗) — but not into a simple turn to isolation. Instead, across cities and archaeological sites, curiosity about the wider world coexists with a wary, often defiant nationalism shaped by centuries of confrontation with external empires. How do people carry on when history itself seems to be watching?

Civilisational memory

Visitors to sites such as Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rostam and Behistun encounter more than ruins; they find a civic narrative that predates Islam and modern borders. These monuments — from Achaemenid palaces to Sassanid cliff reliefs depicting captured Roman emperors — are routinely invoked in public conversation as proof that Iran has repeatedly endured and outlasted foreign intervention. The author of a recent travel piece recounts walking from the southeastern border town of Zabol to Isfahan and hearing young people who, while critical of past and present Western policies, still consume Western culture online and express an intense pride in a premodern Persian identity.

Modern contradictions and geopolitics

That duality helps explain contemporary reactions to pressure from Washington and its allies. The 1953 CIA-backed coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and subsequent decades of sanctions and covert operations are not abstract grievances; they are living memories that shape how ordinary Iranians interpret any new foreign threat. At the same time, many Iranians — students, professionals, women in bazaars — reportedly use VPNs to access global media and social networks, seeking the same information and cultural connection that people elsewhere take for granted.

What it means now

The interaction of deep historical pride and modern global curiosity complicates simple narratives about how Iran will react to escalation. Beijing has deepened economic and diplomatic ties with Tehran in recent years, reportedly including a long-term cooperation framework that worries Washington; sanctions and trade policy will continue to be key levers if tensions rise. The question for policymakers and observers is simple: will Iran’s layered memory of empire act as a shield that steadies people in a crisis, or as a fuse that makes confrontation more likely?