‘Nothing is normal’: diary of Iranian president’s son reflects hopes and fears of ordinary citizens

Yousef Pezeshkian, believed to pictured here in a blue jacket behind his father, Masoud Pezeshkian, follows the war in the same way as normal Iranians, through television and social media. Photograph: Iran’s Presidential website/WANA/Reuters

An Iranian keeping a diary expressing his doubts about the war’s outcome, even shedding a tear over its impact on his grandmother, might not seem extraordinary but for the fact the diarist is the son of the president.

Apart from fierce loyalty to his father, Masoud Pezeshkian, the former heart surgeon elected to the presidency in 2024 who he says he has not seen since the war started, Yousef Pezeshkian’s daily reflections on social media chart how the war effort is going, its impact on ordinary Iranians and how he believes the fight could be made more effective.