AYN TAMR/BAKU: After filing out of their buses in the central Iraqi town of Ayn Tamr on Tuesday, Iranian pilgrims anxiously sought out internet connections, desperate for word from their loved ones back home.

The more than 400 Iranians had recently completed their Haj pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia, and since crossing the border by land into Iraq, they had not received any updates.

One woman dressed in black collapsed in tears after receiving a message informing her that her son was missing after Israeli strikes on Tehran, and that her son-in-law — an official killed in a bombardment — had been laid to rest in her absence. Other women sighed with relief when they finally connected with children and grandchildren via video call.

Over 700 foreigners flee Iran to Azerbaijan, Armenia

“We fear for our children,” Amna Hammudi said, her voice trembling, before finally managing to reach her kids in Iran after two days of silence. “We are all worried about our families, our cities and our country,” the mother of four added. In a parking lot in Ayn Tamr, near Karbala, 10 buses wait for permission to transport the pilgrims to the Mehran border crossing between Iraq and Iran.

76,000 pilgrims stranded

Iraq is expected to receive 76,000 Iranian pilgrims by land after they were stranded in Saudi Arabia by airport closures following the surprise Israeli attack on Iran last week. It will welcome 2,500 Iranian pilgrims a day in the hope of facilitating their return home, according to Sami al-Massudi, the head of the Iraqi body for pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

700 foreigners flee Iran

More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel began striking the country last week, government officials in Baku and Yerevan said on Tuesday.

The Caucasus countries border Iran’s northwest, with the closest crossing into Azerbaijan around 500 kilometres from Tehran by road. “Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan,” a government source said.

The evacuees, who crossed the border via the Astara checkpoint on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transported to Baku airport and “flown to their home countries on international flights”, the source said.

Among those evacuated are citizens of post-Soviet countries Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with others from Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam.

Later on Tuesday, Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said that Baku “is reviewing requests from more than 1,200 foreign nationals from 51 countries seeking to leave Iran” via Azerbaijan. “Border-crossing permits are being arranged,” he added.

Temporary border opening

Azerbaijan shut its land borders in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has kept them closed ever since. But the official said that “in light of the evacuation need, Azerbaijan has temporarily opened its border for those leaving Iran.”

India also evacuated 110 of its citizens from Iran through Armenia, Ani Badalyan, Yerevan’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, told journalists. Meanwhile, Iran’s ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, said “many Iranian citizens who had previously been in Turkiye and Russia have returned to Iran via Armenia”.

“Efforts are ongoing to facilitate the return of Iranian citizens amid flight cancellations,” Sobhani said in comments translated into Armenian at a news conference in Yerevan.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2025