The middle-aged housewife lugging her food shopping in a white plastic bag had a lot to say about her worries for her three grown-up children living here.

With the fighting over in Lebanon, many here fear the world’s attention may now focus on Tehran — and that international sanctions will be imposed if Iran does not suspend its nuclear research programme by the end of the month.

“Like many people here I am worried,” said the woman. “Sanctions cannot be a good thing. Just look at how the people in North Korea are living.”

The woman would not give her name for fear of persecution, even though what she said would not normally be rated as subversive by the authorities.

“Just look at how prices have gone up in the past eight months,” she said looking at her shopping bag of bread, milk, yoghurt, olive oil and vegetables.

“Imagine how far up the prices would go once sanctions are imposed. I am really worried for my children.”

Yet at the same time she could see why Iran was searching for alternative sources of energy. “Even today there are some parts of the country which, under the scorching 50 degrees heat, are facing power cuts,” she said, reflecting Iran’s argument that its nuclear programme is aimed at making not bombs but electricity.

Across the road in a middle-class area of central Tehran, a young graduate student was even more worried.

“Sanctions mean isolation,” said the student of metallurgy who preferred not to give his name, “just like what happened in Iraq before, and in North Korea now.”

He said Iran had managed to build a consensus in the world against itself by its rhetoric.

“I think we have to do everything to avoid sanctions even if it means suspending our uranium enrichment activities,” he said.

The UN resolution was approved after five permanent members of the security council and Germany lost patience with the Iranian government. Iran had been offered a package of incentives to abandon its pursuit of nuclear energy — but had failed to respond.

Now as a showdown looms, the fears and concerns of ordinary Iranians on the streets are largely absent from the official media; newspapers are all the mouthpieces of factions within the Islamic establishment.

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