‘How can 10 million people evacuate Tehran?’published at 05:11 British Summer Time
Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Persian
More and more people are trying to flee Tehran, but traffic is still very much packed, just as it has been over the last few days.
A family I know started their journey from Tehran and arrived 14 hours later on a journey that would normally take three hours. They said they were “lucky” to have finally made it out. The same feeling was shared by many others I spoke to, who managed to escape Tehran, but were worried about friends and family who hadn’t been able to pack and go.
“The roads are literally blocked, so it’s rather irrational to just go and get stuck in the traffic jam for now,” a friend told me tonight when I asked if they had left Tehran yet.
First, it was Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday asking the residents of part of Tehran to leave, then US President Donald Trump told “everyone” to evacuate the capital tonight.
Every random Iranian group chat on messaging apps that I’m a member of has turned into a place for political talk and telling others about locations that have been targeted in the country.
It is 04:30 now in Tehran, but some people are already – or still – awake.
“I’m so exhausted, both physically and emotionally. I haven’t slept for four nights now,” someone said a few minutes ago in the group chat for a community of video game streamers. Another asked “How can 10 million people evacuate Tehran?”
That question went unanswered in the chat.
