After three days of Israelites attacks, “everyone is trying to escape” Tehran “one way or another,” one resident told BBC News Persian.
On Sunday, long queues formed at petrol stations across the city. Many people tried to leave for remote areas, away from any possible Israelites target, but could not even get out of the province because of heavy traffic.
“Tehran isn’t safe, clearly,” one resident said. “We get no alarms or warnings from officials about Israelites attacks. We just hear the blasts and hope our place isn’t hit. But where can we go? Nowhere feels safe.
One person who managed to move from Tehran to another province said: “I don’t think I’ve fully processed that I’m living in an active war zone, and I’m not sure when I’ll reach acceptance.”
“This is not my war. I’m not rooting for either side, I just want to survive along with my family.”
Since Friday, Israel has hit Iran with its biggest wave of air strikes in years.
It led to retaliation from Iran, which has launched missile attacks on Israel.
At least 19 people have been killed in Israel since Friday, authorities said. Iran’s health ministry said on Sunday that Israelites strikes had killed 224 people across the country since Friday.
One Iranian told the BBC she has not been able to sleep for two nights: “I’ve gone through really tough situations.”
She said the current situation reminds her of bombings and going to shelters during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, when she was a child.
“The difference is that back then, at least when an attack happened, we heard the air raid siren or at least warnings before it happened. But now, during this bombing or any air raid, there’s no sirens or warnings.”
One woman in Tehran said she has considered leaving the city to escape the attacks.
“We’ve all wanted to go to smaller cities or villages, anywhere we can go, but each of us has loved ones who can’t leave, and we’re thinking of them,” she said. “What we’re experiencing is not fair to any of us, the people of Iran.”
“We’re all trying to get through these days in fear, exhaustion, and a lot of stress, this is extremely hard and painful.”
Another resident in the capital said: “I can’t just leave Tehran. I can’t leave my elderly parents who can’t travel far and long and leave the city myself. Besides, I need to show up to work. What can I do now?”
—BBC.
