A growing number of Iranian civilians are traveling to the Turkish border city of Van, as rapidly escalating tensions between Iran and Israel heighten security concerns.
In the pre-dawn hours of Friday, Israel launched a series of coordinated airstrikes targeting strategic locations across the country, including in the capital, Tehran. Iranian state media has confirmed the deaths of several high-ranking military commanders and prominent nuclear scientists in these attacks.
In response to the Israeli offensive, Iran has launched barrages of ballistic missiles at military targets inside Israel since Friday night, further intensifying the conflict.
After being struck on Friday, Iran closed its airspace. Over the past two days, an increasing number of Iranians have chosen to travel by bus across the northern border into Van, the largest city in eastern Türkiye.
"The border is still open right now. We've already had 28 buses arrive here from the border today (Saturday). There are so many buses that have come through, and people just keep coming, probably because of the fighting. Normally, we get maybe seven or eight buses of Iranian passengers in a whole day, but this morning we've already had 28 buses show up. At this rate, we could see 150 to 200 buses arriving by the end of today," said a bus company principal.
The surge in cross-border movement is driven by safety concerns among many Iranian civilians following attacks on their capital, with uncertainty over how the crisis may escalate.
An Iranian traveler coming from Tehran said Van was merely a transit point, with Istanbul in northwestern Türkiye as his final destination.
"It's unstable. Nobody knows what's happening," he described the uncertainty in his home country.
With many Iranians arriving and transferring through, transportation from Van has seen surging demand. Flights remain fully booked for the past few days, and buses to Istanbul are also sold out.
"My destination is Sweden. And actually I was a traveler and I had my flight yesterday at four o'clock in the morning. And exactly at four in the morning, Tehran was bombed and (along with) many other cities, so when I came to the airport, I had to come back and just take a taxi to the border in the north of Iran, which takes about 20 hours by taxi. And from this border, I came inside here. And now, I have to go to Istanbul, (which will take) 24 hours more," said another Iranian traveler.
Iran-Türkiye border travel surges amid regional tensions
Iran-Türkiye border travel surges amid regional tensions
