Iranian Londoners say concern growing for family living in the country as conflict escalates
Londoners with friends and family in Iran are only able to watch with concern from thousands of kilometres away as conflict continues to escalate between the country and Israel.
The two countries have been engaged in tit-for-tat missile attacks for the last several days, which began when Israel attacked Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.
With many family members in Iran, Besat Zardosht said she feels hopeless being so far away from them. It's a challenge to perform daily routines and look after her child, she added.
"It is tough to just have all of this situation in your mind, and then here you are, in a safe country," she said.
"I'm so glad that I'm here in Canada. I have my daughter raised in Canada. But what about all of the kids that are there? My nieces and nephews. What about them?"
Zardosht tries to stay in constant contact with her loved ones, and has been trying to get them to relocate to a different city, where it may be safer, she said.
One friend she spoke to said she and her family grabbed just a purse and left everything, Zardosht said. "My heart just wants to explode hearing from them and being here and not being able to do much."
There is concern the conflict could turn into a wider and more dangerous regional war.
Since Friday, Israeli's sweeping attacks on military and nuclear infrastructure have killed more than 200 people in Iran, including top generals and scientists but also civilians. Israel has said the attack was necessary to prevent Iran from building an atomic weapon.
Iran has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, and U.S. intelligence and the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog have said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon when airstrikes began. The watchdog has, however, questioned Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, and recently censured the country for failing to comply with inspectors.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Monday the strikes have set Iran's nuclear program back "years."
Iran has retaliated by launching hundreds of drones and missiles against Israel, some of which have penetrated Israel's aerial defence system, killing two dozen people and injuring more than 500.
Conflict is what the unpopular Iranian regime wants, not what the Iranian people want, Zardosht said.
"Iranians, especially the younger generation, reject this regime's ideology ... (The regime has) absolutely no shame on killing their own people, and they have brought lots of instability in the region."
Many Iranians abroad don't support the regime, but also don't support Israel's actions, said Londoner Alireza Azizi.
Last week, Netanyahu said Israel, in achieving its objective, was also 'clearing the path for you to achieve your freedom,' referring to the Iranian people.
On Monday, he said Israel was not attempting to topple the Iranian government, but added he would not be surprised if that happened as a result of the strikes.
"We want to have our revolution by ourselves. We don't need any support from another country," Azizi said.
CBC News spoke with Azizi last month about his frustrated efforts to bring his parents from Iran to Canada for a visit. That effort has taken on new urgency.
"If something happens to my parents, (the Canadian government) is responsible for delaying this application for more than 500 days," he said, paraphrasing an email he plans to send to the Prime Minister's office and to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Azizi's sister and brother-in-law, who live in Tehran, left the city to be with his parents in Ardabil, in the northern part of Iran. Meanwhile, his mother is asking if the conflict might end soon, he said.
"No one has a clear idea," he said. "Israel wants to bomb Iran, until when? What's their goal? What (do) they want to do?
"People disagree with (the) regime's actions, but we can't go outside and say, 'Okay, we want to change this regime,' while they're bombing Iran."
cbc.ca
