‘Fearing ground attack, 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 a worse situation. And Washington’s vague statements and Tel Aviv’s threatening comments are adding to their plight. Iranians living in India told TOI on Friday that their loved ones have started moving out of residential areas of the capital as there is strong talk among the population of a ground attack by the “enemy” in parts of their country in the coming days.Roya, an Iranian citizen, said, “There is panic there. People are extremely worried. No one knows whether the current (ceasefire) talks will be meaningful or will lead to any kind of halt to US and Israeli airstrikes… Many families, including mine, living in Tehran have started leaving their homes for ‘safer’ rural areas in the north.”
Living in Mumbai for the past few years with her husband, she said her family and friends are not waiting for the next 10 days (as US President Donald Trump had announced) before US-Israeli “some more aggression” begins. He said some of his family members had decided to visit their ancestral place in a quiet village far from Tehran.Reza, an Iranian national who has been living in Bengaluru for almost four years, said residents have ration and essential items. “They have seen the horrific bombings and they are scared,” he said.“We had learned lessons from the Iraq War. In those days, it was part of the culture to collect ration, especially dry ration, for at least two months. So far, there has been no shortage of food in Tehran, but people there have stopped trusting Trump… We can see every night and day how our cities are being bombed. They can launch a ground attack on my country at any time,” said Reza, whose family called him for “about two minutes” on Thursday.“A major problem we are facing is lack of connectivity,” Reza said. “Calls from abroad are still not allowed in Iran…”
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However, the Iranian government “has eased the communications blackout by allowing video calls on social media apps”. “Thankfully, I managed to see my family’s faces via video call on the Bell app on Friday after almost a month. Though we couldn’t talk, we only cried. Only God knows what will happen next,” said an Iranian woman in Delhi.