Iranians are worried about the conflict between President Trump and Iranthe ruler escalates. In Israel, there is also anxiety, along with preparations. But some Iranians speaking to CBS News expressed not only nervousness but hope that Mr. Trump would follow through on his repeated promises to help them change their circumstances.

As at least 10 US warships — including an aircraft carrier and at least five destroyers — headed for Iran’s coastal waters on Friday, diplomatic efforts by other regional powers appeared to pull Washington and Tehran back from the brink of military conflict. slow progress, if any.

Mr. Trump Jennifer Jacobs told CBS News on Thursday night that he has had talks with Iran over the past few days, and that he plans to have more, adding: “We have a lot of very large, very powerful ships that are sailing toward Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them.”

“I told them two things,” Mr. Trump said of his contacts with Iran. “Number one, no nuclear weapons. And number two, stop killing the protesters.”

CBS News asked the White House for clarification on any ongoing direct talks between the Trump administration and Tehran.

State media earlier this week quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying he had had no contact with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days, although he said the two sides remained in contact through intermediaries. The Swiss Embassy in Tehran, along with intermediaries including Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, facilitated communication between Iran and the US

Iran’s leaders have long said they are open to direct talks with the US, but that the country will not engage in negotiations while Washington threatens military action unless Tehran agrees to preconditions. Tehran has also refused to accept a ban on enriching uranium within its borders – because of what it says is an entirely peaceful nuclear program – or limits on its non-nuclear ballistic missile programme.

Since neither side has offered any concessions, at least publicly, the Iranians are left to wait and try to prepare for a possible new military conflict with the superpower. And they do it in extraordinary circumstances, even for a country where life has been difficult for decades.

Most Iranians take Mr. Trump’s threats seriously, but communication with the outside world, and even within their own country, is currently incredibly difficult. Since the Iranian government launched a crackdown on protests that rocked the country for two weeks in early January, internet and phone connections have been largely blocked.

Like Trump threatens Iran with “great destruction,” many people in Tehran are hoarding whatever essentials they can. But it’s harder than ever. Store shelves are fully stocked, but already severe sanctions, stepped up by Mr. Trump, have plunged Iran into an economic crisis that has sent prices soaring.

Record-high inflation and a staggering depreciation of the local currency mean that even Iranians with stable jobs can barely afford the basics. The government, which is struggling for liquidity, has also steadily increased the cost of public and communal services.

So for many, many Iranians, just putting food on the table, let alone hoarding it, has become a struggle.

Nahid, 25, told CBS News that she has a college degree, but works in a Tehran coffee shop for low pay and lives with her parents, “because I don’t earn enough to live separately.”

“I see my father buying food and other necessities and advising the whole family to prepare for much more difficult days,” she said on Thursday.

“I don’t want America to come and liberate us, because that’s the job of our people,” she said. “But I want President Trump to stand by what he’s already said — that if the regime is killing people … he’s going to intervene and help the Iranians. He should at least keep his word, or the Iranian people will remember him as a liar.”

Tehran taxi driver Mohammed, 35, told CBS News he is struggling to provide for his wife and two young children as the poor economy and recent unrest on the streets of the capital have brought his business to a halt, cutting his income in half.

“I want President Trump to fulfill his promise to the Iranian people, when he told the protesters to keep up, because help is on the way,” he said. “The people protesting in the streets were peaceful and had no weapons, but the police and Basij (paramilitary) forces violently attacked people and shot many defenseless people.”

But there are some Iranians who remain, like their leaders, in public defiance, insisting that America — with its thousands of troops stationed across the region, within range of Iran’s missiles — would pay a heavy price for any strike ordered by President Trump.

“The U.S. can’t do anything,” Hai Morteza Armani, 67, a merchant in Tehran’s grand central bazaar who described himself to CBS News as a devout Muslim and government supporter, told CBS News.

“President Trump said a lot of stupid things that he forgot the next day, and these recent comments of his against the Islamic Republic of Iran are just baseless threats,” he said. “If the Americans do any harm to our leader, then we will kill as many American soldiers as possible, and they know about our missile capabilities and are afraid of it. That’s why they won’t do anything.”

However, Mr Trump ordered military action against Iran just seven months ago, joining Israel in waging a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic and ordering strikes on three of the country’s most sensitive nuclear facilities.

In Israel, rumors of war

Memories of that war are still fresh in Israeli minds, and the exchange of threats between Tehran and Washington has renewed a sense of anxiety and alarmed people.

While Israel’s air defenses have proven incredibly effective during that war, air raid sirens have repeatedly forced Israelis to take cover, and fears of another round of conflict have grown in recent weeks.

The governments of Israel and Iran have long considered each other archenemies, and most Israelis reserve their anger for the regime in Tehran. There was a lot of sympathy in the country for the protesters in Iran, and President Trump’s promise to attack the rulers of the Islamic Republic and protect the Iranian population found significant support in Israel.

As U.S. warships approach, Israeli media headlines for weeks have focused on the possibility of another U.S. attack on Iran — and the likelihood that it will bear the brunt of Tehran’s retaliation as America’s closest ally in the region.

Some municipalities have already announced the reopening of public bomb shelters. Several airlines have canceled flights to Israel, and hotels are reporting that tourists are canceling reservations. People stock up on food and bottled water.

But there have been no specific instructions yet from the government or the Front Command, which sends warnings to citizens based on real-time threat assessments by Israeli security services.

In the absence of such clear instructions, and since the rhetoric of both Mr. Trump and Iranian officials is characteristically dramatic but little detailed, rumors spread quickly through Israel. Everyone seems to know someone who knows someone who “knows something”.

Everyday conversations among Israelis often revolve around claims of certain knowledge about an American strike coming in hours or days, or debates over whether to postpone annual vacations and other events.

But no one, in Tehran or Tel Aviv, really knows what’s coming.