A Turkish mother and her young daughter who fled from Iran amid escalating tensions have been emotionally reunited with their family at the border city of Van in Türkiye on Sunday, expressing their relief at being back safely but concerned about other family members who have been left behind.
The Kapikoy Border Crossing in the eastern Turkish city of Van has seen an influx of arrivals from neighboring Iran in recent days, as people look to escape Israeli attacks, while the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend have further increased concerns.
Among the many emotional scenes at the border point was a moving family reunion, as a Turkish mother and her young daughter were embraced by their husband and father after returning from the Iranian side.
The mother had chosen to get her and her daughter out of Iran amid a relentless exchanges of missiles in the conflict with Israel, amid fears it could escalate into a broader regional conflict.
Though pleased to have reached Turkish soil, the mother said she is still worried about some family members who remain in Iran as the ongoing conflict shows no sign of de-escalation.
"You know, war is not good — it's very bad. My family is there now — my mother, my brother, my friends. Everyone I love is still there. But I had to come here, for my husband and my son," she said.
She added though that her daughter is too young to make sense of what was happening, she worries about how the horrors of the conflict could take a mental toll.
"My daughter was asleep during the blast. She didn't understand what was happening. I held her ears so she wouldn't hear it. Thank God, she didn't understand," she said.
Many Turkish people living in the border city expressed their concerns over the growing tensions and are particularly alarmed the military involvement of the United States could trigger an ever wider conflict, putting innocent civilians in risk.
"I know people who were affected by the strikes on nuclear facilities. I spoke to one or two of them. They said the damage wasn't catastrophic, but still, some key sites were hit. The problem is that around those sites, there are innocent civilians—children. Some of them were killed in the attack," said one of the residents in Van.
Concerns have been raised after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the United States has completed attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran, namely Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. Trump's decision to intervene directly in support of Israel's attempt to dismantle Iran's nuclear program marks a major escalation in the Middle East and sparks fears of wider conflict in the region.
Despite Trump's claim that Iran's key nuclear facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated," Iran said the attacks didn't harm its nuclear efforts because the sites had been evacuated "a while ago" and the materials had previously been removed, according to Hassan Abedini, deputy political director of Iran's state broadcaster.
Turkish family fleeing Iran emotionally reunited at border crossing
