Exiled Iranians living in Van, Turkey, are watching with growing anxiety as a new wave of protests in Iran is met with a harsh security crackdown. An internet blackout and reports from rights groups that several thousand people were killed left families cut off for days. Refugees describe fear for relatives, economic collapse at home, and divided opinions on foreign military intervention while calling for international attention.
On Edge: Iranian Exiles In Turkey Watch Homeland Convulse Amid Deadly Crackdown
Iranian security forces violently put down protests challenging the Islamic republic led by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (-)(-/KHAMENEI.IR/AFP)
Mahsa, a 30-year-old Iranian exile in eastern Turkey, sits in a cafe in Van nervously twirling a strand of hair around her painted fingernails and chain-smoking as she follows the turmoil unfolding back home.
Three years ago the Tehran native fled to Van after receiving repeated threats and police summonses following the 2022 protests sparked by the death of a young woman detained over Iran’s dress code. Now, as a fresh wave of demonstrations is met by a lethal crackdown, she watches anxiously from across the border while Iran briefly imposed an internet blackout.
Rights groups say the blackout coincided with a violent security response that left several thousand people dead and helped cut families off from one another for days. Mahsa went two weeks without contact with relatives in Tehran; communications have returned slowly, and those she reached say they are afraid to speak openly.
"They told me they’re OK. But they’re afraid to talk on the phone. They’re afraid to even go outside," she said. Mahsa is a pseudonym chosen in tribute to Mahsa Amini, whose death in 2022 triggered the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests.
Sitting over tea in a cafe popular with young Iranians about 100 kilometres from the border, she described her emotions as "raw." She said the latest unrest began with economic grievances — soaring prices and worsening living standards — and broadened into a nationwide movement demanding political change.
"People can’t take it anymore. We want freedom, a future, and for them to stop oppressing us," she said. "Religion should be personal. Let everyone live and dress as they choose." At the same time, she warned against external military strikes: "How many more innocent people are going to die?"
Another exile, Nilufer, 35, who moved to Turkey last year, urged foreign intervention, saying: "I hope they launch strikes right away. No matter what America does, they’ll never kill as many as those who opened fire on their own people." A former civil servant, she left her 10-year-old son with his grandmother in Tabriz and crosses the border monthly to visit him, taking care to wear the veil and avoid political remarks.
Exiles in Van portray a community gripped by fear for loved ones, anger over economic collapse and security repression, and divided views on whether outside military action would help or further endanger civilians. They are urging international attention while trying to protect families still inside Iran.
Key facts: Van, eastern Turkey; relatives in Tehran were unreachable for weeks during internet disruption; rights groups report several thousand dead amid the crackdown.
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