Fear of losing loved ones trumps fear of death for Iranians abroad. Dozens of worried Iranians huddled in the shade of an Istanbul bus shelter Tuesday, waiting for a bus to take them back home despite an intensifying air war between Iran and Israel.
Flights to Iran were suspended on Friday after Israel launched a devastating attack on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, sparking a deadly confrontation which is now in its sixth day.
Although many have fled the Israeli bombardments of Tehran, other Iranians have been stranded abroad and are trying to get home to their loved ones, despite the ongoing airstrikes.
“I want to look after my parents, they’re afraid,” said Babak Alpor, 34, who flew from Tehran to Istanbul to visit his brother who is studying in Türkiye’s largest city.
Horrified by the images of the bombings, Alpor decided to cut short his trip and go home to his parents, despite his mother begging him to stay with his brother.
But with all flights canceled, he was forced to find another way home, a one-way bus trip back to the Iranian capital that will take 38 hours and cost him 5,000 Turkish lira ($127). “I’m not scared, but of course I’m sad. Nobody likes war,” he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Next to him, a group of women were talking quietly in Farsi. “They’re saying they are afraid and don’t want to go back,” he explained.
Türkiye is a popular destination for tourists from neighboring Iran, with 460,000 of them visiting in the first two months of the year, official figures show.
Elsewhere, an Iranian student hugged her mother and younger sister goodbye as they boarded the bus for Tehran, the anxiety plain on her face as it pulled away. Her mother was afraid but decided to go back to be with another daughter who was stuck in Tehran and very frightened, explained the physiotherapy student, who did not want to give her name. “My other sister who stayed in Iran is just crying and crying,” she said.
U.S. President Donald Trump urged Tehran’s nearly 10 million residents to leave “immediately,” his words echoing warnings from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite the warnings, some travelers were trying to put on a brave face. “It will be over soon, I think it will last a maximum of two or three weeks,” said Fahim, an Iranian tourist in his forties who was visiting Istanbul with his wife and two little girls. Although they will pass through Tehran, their bus journey of 2,700 kilometres (1,700 miles) will end in Sari, a town five hours northeast of the capital. “Where we live, everything is OK,” he said in a show of confidence aimed at reassuring his young family. “Peace is coming.”
In Kapıköy, a border crossing in the eastern Turkish province of Van, a relative quiet dominated on Tuesday after the past few days saw a flurry of new arrivals and those hastily departing Türkiye for Iran. Some did not cancel their short visits to Türkiye for vacation, while almost all interviewed by the media say they have no intention to take shelter in Türkiye amid the conflict.
Sanam, an Iranian woman who did not give her last name, told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) on Wednesday that she had accompanied her mother to Tabriz on a flight from Istanbul. The return flight of the Istanbul resident was canceled due to the conflict, forcing her to take the land route. “Things are fine for us in Iran for now. The state is doing everything to protect its citizens. I would stay in my country if my husband did not have to work in Istanbul,” she said. Sanam says Iranians are accustomed to such situations. “The elderly people remind us of eight years of war with Iraq and urge us to calm down,” she said.
Soleyman Dalla said he is a frequent visitor to Türkiye and will travel to the southeastern province of Diyarbakır. “Iran is fine, people are not scared,” he said as he crossed into Türkiye through Kapıköy.
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