Iranian citizens are gripped by anxiety as scheduled talks between the US and Iran proceed. They fear potential war, balancing skepticism regarding the government's commitment to peace against threats of escalation from the US.

Everyday Iranians are awaiting planned negotiations between Washington and Tehran with a mixture of scepticism and outright fear, caught between a government they say does not understand peace and an American president who has threatened to destroy “a whole civilisation”. Talks between the United States and Iran and hosted by Pakistan were hanging in the balance on Friday, but if they go ahead they could transform a temporary ceasefire in the US-Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic into...