This Nowruz has a different feel: homes are being swept and prepared for spring, but celebration is muted by war, internet blackouts and a sense of danger.
Families who would normally gather are cut off from loved ones and struggling to get news from the outside.
Reporters working with people inside Iran have been sent accounts under strict anonymity for safety.
The government has tightened online controls and arrested people accused of talking to foreign media or spreading alarm on social platforms.
The human cost of the recent strikes is mounting.
Officials and local sources say the death toll is approaching 3,000, with civilians making up a large share of the victims.
In several areas, soot and oil residue from attacks on fuel depots have left streets and courtyards darkened, a visible reminder of the violence.
Some Iranians say they do not want a ceasefire if it means the current authorities remain in power.
Decades of repression and earlier crackdowns have left deep anger among many families who feel the regime must be removed before normal life can return.
At the same time, public demonstrations of support for the government continue, making it hard to judge broader sentiment amid strict censorship.
Survivors of the mass killings of protesters earlier this year describe a nation still carrying the trauma of those events.
Students and activists warn that a collapse of clerical rule could trigger violent clashes.
They point to a loyalist base steeped in ideas of sacrifice and devotion, and to a succession system that appears designed to replace ousted leaders quickly, limiting the chance of a rapid political shift.
Young men conscripted into the armed forces are feeling the strain.
Some describe being taken from their homes and forced to serve, while others are refusing or fleeing after friends were killed in attacks on military sites.
For now, the state keeps enough coercive power, weaponry and popular backing to continue fighting.
A negotiated halt might preserve the current leadership rather than uproot it, while a wider escalation could produce unpredictable and dangerous outcomes for ordinary Iranians.
The reporting includes contributions from journalists working with sources inside Iran; several interviewees requested name changes to avoid reprisals.
Additional field reporting was provided by colleagues on the ground.
