Travel, life in Iran remain operational and calm amid Iran-Israel tensions

China

Travel, life in Iran remain operational and calm amid Iran-Israel tensions

2025-06-15 12:44 Last Updated At：18:57

Travel and life at the Iranian-Turkish border and Iranian city of Tabriz continued more or less as usual despite heightened tensions with Israel.

The flow of passengers remained steady at the Khoy-Kapikoy crossing between Türkiye and Iran on Saturday, with some Iranians forced to take lengthy overland routes due to canceled flights following Israel's airstrikes on Iran and the subsequent closure of Iranian airspace.

Although land border crossings have become critical transit points for travelers, the border checkpoint, located about 60 kilometers from Van, Türkiye, appeared calm with only mild increase of travelers despite heightened regional tensions. Dozens of buses lined up on the Turkish side, waiting to transport arriving Iranian passengers further into Türkiye.

"I'm a student in Türkiye. Usually I go with plane, but right now there isn't any plane going on in the country. I have to just do it with the cars. I have no choice for that," said an Iranian student studying in Türkiye.

Despite Israel's intensifying airstrikes in Iran's northwestern West Azerbaijan province on Saturday, the border area remained operational and calm, with many Iranians still returning home.

Approximately 300 kilometers from the border lies Tabriz, the largest city in northern Iran. Even as Israeli strikes continued overnight on Saturday, with Iranian air defense forces engaging targets in the skies above, daily life in Tabriz carried on.

The city's central streets remained bustling after dark, with traffic and commerce uninterrupted.

Iranian FM condemns US-Israeli strikes on girls' elementary school

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday condemned U.S.-Israeli strikes on a girls' elementary school in southern Iran's Minab in a post.

On the social media platform X, Araghchi shared the image of a harrowing aerial photograph showing mass graves being prepared for the victims of the attack, in which he said the bodies of the innocent young girls were "torn to shreds".

The airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab on Saturday left at least 165 people dead, according to Iranian authorities.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has expressed condolences to the families of the victims and the residents of the city. He has condemned the airstrikes, calling them inhumane and barbaric.

The United Nations education agency, UNESCO, said the deadly bombing of the primary school by the U.S. and Israel constitutes a grave violation of humanitarian law.