The first group of Thais evacuated from Iran since the start of the war have arrived in Bangkok, with some lauding Tehran and its slain supreme leader, AFP reports.

The group of 29, including domestic workers, university students and children, landed at Thailand’s main international airport in the afternoon, after crossing into Turkiye from Iran over the weekend.

Mizan Kepan, a 34-year-old psychology student who was evacuated from Iran, called the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “our spiritual leader whom we loved very much”.

“Everyone who sees what is happening today can see which powerful countries are the most brutal,” Mizan told AFP at Suvarnabhumi airport, noting a strike on an elementary school in southern Iran that killed at least 150 people, mostly students.

Another Thai student, who arrived in Bangkok with her husband and three children, said the news of the deadly strike devastated her. She held a portrait of Khamenei while walking through the airport, remarking: “Iran will prevail.”