Iranians seek temporary refuge in neighboring Turkey as conflict with Israel escalates
GURBULAK BORDER CROSSING, Turkey (AP) — At a border crossing between Turkey and Iran, Shirin Talebi was anxiously waiting on Monday for her children and grandchildren to arrive from Tehran. The family are planning to stay for a month or two in Turkey, seeking temporary refuge from the conflict between Israel and Iran.
“I’m here because of safety. They are bombing. My children have small children of their own,” said Talebi, who had just arrived at the Gurbulak-Bazargan border crossing from the Iranian city of Urmia.
“Hopefully, it is over in one or two months so we can return to our country,” she said.
Turkey, which shares a 569 kilometer-long (348 miles) border with Iran, has expressed deep concern over the escalating armed conflict between Iran and Israel.
Israel launched an assault on Iran’s top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists that it said was necessary to prevent the country from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon. Friday’s surprise attack came two days before Iran and the U.S. were set to hold a negotiating session for a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran has retaliated by firing waves of ballistic missiles at Israel.
There are fears in Turkey that a prolonged conflict could threaten its security, cause energy disruptions and lead to refugee flows.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that Turkey was ready to act as a “facilitator” toward ending the conflict and resuming nuclear negotiations in telephone calls with U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Observers have noted an increase in arrivals from Iran since the conflict, though Turkish officials have dismissed social media reports of a large-scale refugee influx as unfounded. Turkey has not provided any official figures for arrivals.
“Our Ministry of Interior and relevant security units confirm that there is no unusual movement, congestion or irregular crossing at both the Kapıkoy and Gurbulak border gates,” the Turkish presidential communications office said.
Turkey allows Iranians to enter the country without a visa for tourism purposes and stay for up to 90 days.
At Gurbulak, one of the busiest crossings between Turkey and Iran, bus driver Ferit Aktas had just brought a group of Iranians to the border gate from Istanbul and was waiting to pick up others.
“About a week or 10 days ago, there would be between three and five people (Iranians) who would come for shopping or tourism. But now, I can say, that there are at least 30 Iranians in my vehicle per day,” he said.
“They say, ‘We are not safe there and we are forced to come.’ Most of them want to go to Europe, they want to go to Europe through Turkey,” Aktas said.
Mejid Dehimi, also from Umria, arrived in Turkey for a week-long break, not to escape the conflict. He expressed support for his country’s leaders.
“We are not afraid of death,” he said. “We will stand against Israel until our last breath and for as long as our lives allow.”