In recent years, Iranian society has faced persistent security threats and external aggression, making war‑related anxiety a pervasive phenomenon at the family level. This study aimed to explore the lived experience of individuals facing war anxiety and to examine the role of positive and negative family interactions in managing this anxiety. A descriptive phenomenological approach was adopted within a social interpretivist paradigm. Data were collected through in‑depth semi‑structured interviews with 19 citizens (11 women, 8 men) residing in Yazd who reported direct exposure to war conditions. Purposeful sampling continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s (1978) seven‑step method and validated through member checking and expert review. MAXQDA 2020 was used to systematically organize the data, document the coding process, and track the development of themes. Analysis yielded three positive themes (emotional refuge of the family, emotion regulation and shared meaning‑making, family cohesion and effectiveness) and three negative themes (family conflict and tension, dysfunctional communication patterns, transmission of anxiety within the family system). Positive interactions fostered a basic sense of safety and collective resilience, thereby reducing anxiety, whereas negative interactions shifted anxiety from an individual to a systemic level and contributed to its chronicity. These findings highlight family interactions as a central mechanism that can either exacerbate or mitigate war‑related anxiety and provide a basis for designing family‑focused interventions that strengthen positive communication patterns and reduce negative ones under conditions of war threat.