Fearing Israeli attacks, Iranians seek refuge in Armenia

Border points in the north Iran shares borders in this region with Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia are flocking from those seeking to leave Iran for fear that no country within the Islamic Republic is safe anymore.

In Agarak, on the Armenian part of Iran's border, local residents said this crossing has already flooded with people.

No city is safe”, Amir Nikki said of the Artman Radio Free Europe Service, “because there are [installs] of the army and Revolutionary Guard, as well as weapons everywhere”.

Nikki lives in the United Kingdom, but his family lives in Isfahan, central Iran, near nuclear buildings that Israel is attacking in an effort to neutralise Iran's nuclear program.

Israel and many of its Western allies accuse Iran of aiming to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran has repeatedly dismissed this charge, saying his nuclear programme is only for civilian purposes.

Anyway, Nikki's family is in the middle of a fire.

They're very worried. They find themselves in a very stressful situation. They can't breathe, they can't eat, they can't drink. They're shocked. Can't sleep”, he said after crossing the border and entered Armenia, over 1,100 kilometers from Isfahan, follows Periscope.

Since Israel launched air strikes across Iran on 13 June, both sides have exchanged waves of attacks that have hit military and non-military buildings in both states, causing casualties.

But the situation in Iran is evidently more serious in view of Israel's military priority.

Violence has driven the entire Middle East, which has only been unstable because of Israel's 20-month war in Gaza on the eve of a full-scale war.

Most Iranians leaving for Armenia are women and men avoiding media proposals because of fear of punishment from the Islamic regime.

Most of those leaving Iran seem to be women and elderly.

At the crossing at Agarak, our Armenian taxi drivers are facing large crowds of people and working on shifts all day, offering transportation services to people entering Armenia and needing to go in different directions.

They say not only Iranians are the ones crossing the border. Many citizens of other countries are also fleeing the war.

Number of border crossings “will likely increase”

Correspondents of the REL Army Service reporting from the field said they have seen groups of Asian citizens going to Armenia from Iran.

One person predicted that if the conflict between Israel and Iran continues to escalate, the number of people entering Armenia “will likely increase”.

Ismaili, who demanded that his last name not be published, is an Iranian living in Germany.

He said he has been forced to travel to Agarak, because flights from Iran have been cancelled for security reasons.

He is hopeful that fighting will not turn into a full war, adding that he fears how this might affect his family members who are still inside Iran.

I don't think the war is coming. America and Europe will make efforts to end hostilities”, he said.

Until then, Ismaili said what he can do now is leave the country and keep in touch with his family and hope they are safe. / REL/