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Omid Golabkesh dragged his suitcase down a long hallway marking the exit of the Kapikoy border crossing in eastern Turkey. He had nearly reached the end of an exhausting journey that included a 12-hour drive to the checkpoint from his home in Tehran.
The border crossing sits on a mountainous section of the more than 500-kilometre border between Turkey and Iran. It is one of three places where people can cross from Iran and the gateway provides a window into the country, which is largely cut off from the outside world due to near-total internet blackouts.
Like many who stepped out into bright sun and frigid air, Golabkesh initially appeared wary of the journalists and cameras gathered there.
But unlike most, he gave his full name, consented to being filmed and delivered a blunt assessment on camera in Farsi.
“Iran is done. Iran is done,” he said. “Iran didn’t care for its own people and now people aren’t supporting Iran. The situation is so messed up … only God can help.”
For the past two days, CBC News has been speaking with Iranians who recently left, including those who were at the border, and those who had relocated to the Turkish city of Van, 100 kilometres away. Those who shared their thoughts spoke often of fear, resolve and a hope that out of all of this, there will be peace.
Since Saturday, Iran has been hit by a wave of airstrikes from the U.S. and Israel, targeting the country’s military, defence systems, navy and its top echelon of political leaders. On March 1, Iran’s state media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed, creating uncertainty around the future of the regime overall.
An Iranian woman who fled Tehran during the January protests spoke of her hopes and uncertainty following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Window into Iran
Many Iranians whom CBC News interviewed feared speaking publicly. Often, when they agreed to interviews, they often requested that their name or image be withheld because they feared facing reprisal. Iran’s brutal clerical regime frequently imprisons and kills those seen to be expressing dissent.
Hundreds are crossing the border every day, including those who are returning to the country from abroad, and had to make the journey in by vehicle as the airspace over Iran has been closed.
Many of those who are leaving have dual citizenship or family or business opportunities abroad.
On Monday afternoon, a young Iranian man told CBC News his father was going to leave Iran on business, but the entire family decided to join him in Turkey because of what he called the “domestic situation.”
“Things are hard,” said the man, who said he only wanted to be identified by his first name, Sam.
They had left their family home in Tabriz, Iran, in the middle of the night.
“[The city] is, like, half-open, but the main hours of the day, people are staying at home, because they’re scared, of course.”
An Iranian American, who only wanted to be identified as Bridget, said she was scheduled to fly out of Tehran just as the U.S. strikes began. She was already on the plane when the pilot announced the flight would be grounded and everyone needed to get off.
It took her two days to reach and cross the border. Once she got there, she said she joined a small crowd of Iranians waiting to leave.
“People were actually asking me, you know, ‘The United States not gonna win, is it?’” she said.
