Iranians head to Armenia to escape conflict with Israel

The weather is hot and dusty and feels like a desert at the Ajarak border crossing between Armenia and Iran.

There are dry mountains, rocky surrounding the area – there are no trees, there is no shade. It is not the most welcoming terrain, especially for those who traveled for long hours to reach Armenia.

A woman with a modern haircut, with the lower half of her head, holds her child, while her husband negotiates with taxi drivers. There is another family of three with a young boy traveling to the country of their residence, Austria.

Most of those crossing to Armenia seem to have residence or citizenship in other countries. Many were leaving because of the conflict between Israel and Iran, and now on its eighth day.

A father standing with a young child near the mini van: They traveled from the northwestern city of Tabriz.

“All people are afraid, every place is dangerous, not normal,” he added.

The conflict began on June 13, when Israel attacked nuclear and military sites as well as some populated areas.

The Washington -based Human Rights Agency (HRANA), a Washington -based human rights organization, which has long tracked Iran, said 657 people have been killed so far. Iran took revenge on missile attacks on Israel, killing at least 24 people.

Israel says it has created an air superiority over Tehran and I ask people to leave some of its areas. In recent days, heavy traffic jams have been formed on roads outside the city, where some of their 10 million population are seeking safety elsewhere.

Those who traveled to Armenia from Tehran said the trip lasted at least 12 hours. Many of them told us that they did not see the Israeli strikes – but they heard the sound of the explosions they caused.

“It was a worrying there. Every night, attacks from Israel. I escaped from there in a very difficult way. There were no trips, no other ways from there,” said a young Afghan young man with one bag, and there were no trips.

He described the situation in Tehran as “very bad.”

“People who have a place to go, leave. Every night like an attack, people cannot sleep, due to the sounds of explosions, the situation is not good at all,” he said.

A young woman with a white veil and a thick fake eyelashes said she was returning to the country of her residence, Australia.

“I saw something very difficult, I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, traveling in a car with many others on the trip to the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

“Someone comes and attacks your country, do you feel normal?”

Some Israeli ministers talked about the possibility that the conflict will lead to the collapse of the regime in Iran.

But Javad – who was visiting the northeastern city of Sabzifar to spend summer holidays and was returning to Germany – he believed this was unlikely.

“Israel has no chance. Israel is not a friend of us, it is an enemy,” he said. “Israel cannot come to our house to help us. Israel needs to change something for itself, not for us.”

But some Iranians on the border were crossing in the other direction. In the previous evening, Ali Anasai, who was spending a vacation in Armenia with his family, was returning to Tehran.

“I have no concerns, and I am not afraid at all. If I am supposed to die, I will die in my country,” he said.

He said that Israel was “annoyed the whole world – Gaza, Lebanon and other countries.”

“How can this small country have nuclear weapons?” He asked. “Based on any law that this country could have a bomb, and Iran, which focused only on peaceful nuclear energy, not the bomb, cannot?”

It is widely believed that Israel has nuclear weapons, although it does not confirm or deny this.