Ankur Desai

When I opened my balcony door, the blast was so powerful it threw me back.

A mother from Tehran tells us, her young children shivering from the cold by her side.

She says the strikes now come in waves and it's terrifying.

This 19-year-old, also travelling from the capital, pulls back his black hooded jumper to show a large stitched cut across his head.

He was about 50 metres from a police station when it was struck and debris hit him as he ran for cover.

Like many Iranians we meet, he's too afraid to give his name.

Iranians have told us there's even a sign as they leave the country, threatening legal action if they speak to journalists.

The regime may have been weakened, but even across the border, its grip is still felt, and its survival is as uncertain as when people will feel safe enough to return.

The numbers of people crossing Turkey's three land borders are for now small in number.

Iranians tell us huge numbers are leaving the big cities for the safety of the countryside or small towns and villages.

Others tell us even if people wanted to get out, they simply don't have the money to do so or the internet to plan their journey.

Emily Withers reporting.

Well, after the most volatile day of oil trading in world history on Monday, the surge in oil prices has eased.

It's made it clear, though, just how much of an impact this war has already had on the world economy.

Iran says it won't let one litre of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping lane which is usually crucial to the global economy.

It was something General Dan Cain, America's top military advisor, referenced in the press conference we talked about at the start of the podcast.

One solution the US says it's considering would be for Navy warships to escort oil tankers through.

But Tom Sharp, who served for over 25 years in Britain's Royal Navy, says it's not an easy task because Iranian defences there are formidable.

Well, I asked our Asia business correspondent, Nick Marsh, about the straits' economic importance.

Nick Marsh reporting.