‘Fearing ground assault, our families have started leaving Tehran’: Iranians in India | India News
Nearly a month into the conflict in West Asia, people in Iran’s capital Tehran are beginning to fear the worst. And vague statements from Washington and threatening comments from Tel Aviv are adding to their woes. Iranians living in India told TOI on Friday that their loved ones back home have started moving out of the capital’s residential areas as there is a strong buzz among the population of a ground attack by the “enemy” in parts of their country in the coming days.“There is panic. People are deeply worried. No one knows if the (ceasefire) talks will be fruitful or lead to some kind of pause in US and Israeli airstrikes… Many families, including mine, who live in Tehran, have started leaving their homes in the ‘safe’ rural areas to the north,” said Roa, an Iranian national.
Living in Mumbai with her husband for the past few years, she added that her family and friends are not looking forward to the next 10 days (as announced by US President Donald Trump) before the US-Israeli “further offensive” begins. He said some of his family members decided to move to their ancestral place in a quiet village far from Tehran.Reza, an Iranian national who has lived in Bengaluru for nearly four years, said residents have provided groceries and essentials. “They saw intense bombing and were scared,” he said.“We learned our lesson from the Iraq war. Collecting rations, especially dry ones, for at least two months was part of the culture at that time. Till now, there is no shortage of food in Tehran, but people there have stopped trusting Trump… We see every night how our cities are being bombarded. They can launch a ground attack on my country at any moment,” added Reza, whose family called him “for about two minutes” on Thursday.“One of the biggest problems we are facing is the lack of connectivity,” Reza said. “Incoming calls to Iran from abroad are still not allowed…”
poll
How has the conflict in West Asia affected your views on US foreign policy?
However, the Iranian government “relaxed the communications blackout by allowing video calls on social media apps”. “Thankfully, I was able to see my family’s face through a video call on the Bell app on Friday after almost a month. Though we couldn’t talk, we just cried. Only God knows what will happen next,” said an Iranian woman in Delhi.
