Abbas Muzaffar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj and professor at Tashkent's Webster University, had decided to take his 83-year-old mother on a religious pilgrimage to Iran following months of planning.
Taking special leave from his university, he came to India to accompany his mother to Mashhad and Qom – two of the holiest and most prominent pilgrimage sites for Shia Muslims across the world.
At the end of a "deeply satisfying" pilgrimage, little did he know that on the day he and his mother were to return to Prayagraj, Israeli missiles would rain down on Iran, making their departure from the country a highly precarious task.
Speaking to The Quint from a special bus arranged by the Indian Embassy, Muzaffar described his experience of being stranded in the war zone with his aged mother.
'We Had To Move From One Hotel to Another'
Muzaffar and his mother, along with a group of around 90 people from Prayagraj, had landed in Tehran on 3 June to begin their religious pilgrimage. After visiting Mashhad and Qom, they were to head back to India on 13 June.
"On the morning of 13 June, at around 3:30 am, Israel attacked Tehran and several other places. A few hours later, they attacked a nuclear exploration site in Qom – around 20 km from where we were staying," Muzaffar said while speaking to The Quint.
As the attacks led to the closure of Iranian airspace and the cancellation of hundreds of flights across the country, Muzaffar, his mother, and the 90 other Prayagraj residents in their group had no option but to stay put. The only silver lining was that the locals were extremely supportive and caring, he added.
However, barring the safety concerns constantly badgering their minds, staying put wasn't as easy as it seemed either.
"We had to shift from our hotel because our booking was only for a limited number of days, and new guests were coming to occupy the rooms. We had to move from one hotel to the other. On top of that, as the currency started deflating post the attack, things got more expensive."Abbas Muzaffar
'Asked To Reach a Specific Location Within 10 Minutes'
Amid growing uncertainty about their departure, Muzaffar got in touch with the Indian Embassy in Tehran, which assured him that they were doing all that they could to get them out of the country safely.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, 18 June, he called officials to inquire about the status of their evacuation.
"The Embassy informed us that if we could leave our hotels and come to a specific location within 10 minutes, they will put us on a bus which was due to depart immediately. So we had to frantically leave," Muzaffar said.
Apart from Muzaffar and his mother, four others from their group who were ready to leave immediately reached the location where the bus was waiting.
Abbas in front of the special bus arranged by the Indian Embassy in Iran.
(Photo Courtesy: Abbas Muzaffar/Accessed by The Quint)
Speaking to The Quint from the bus via voice notes – as call connectivity in Iran has been extremely poor – Muzaffar told this reporter on Wednesday evening that they are on their way to Mashhad from Qom, a journey which would take them 12-14 hours.
"We will reach Mashhad around midnight on 19 June. Tomorrow morning we will be taken to the Turkmenistan border following which a flight will supposedly take us back to India," he said.
He further added that roads are mostly deserted, with barely one or two cars or buses that can be seen from his window.
"At certain intervals our bus is being stopped at army checkpoints. The Iranian personnel have been asking our bus driver some questions and then letting us go. So in that sense the Indian mission is pretty robust as all protocol permissions seem to have been taken."Abbas Muzaffar
This reporter has not been able to contact Muzaffar following the conversation on Wednesday evening as calls or messages have been hindered due to due to poor connectivity. The report will be updated as and when possible.
Taking to X on Tuesday, 17 June, to share the latest update regarding the Indian Embassy's efforts, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said that Indians in Tehran had been moved to safer locations amid the conflict with Israel.
"Separately, some Indians have been facilitated to leave Iran through the border with Armenia. The Embassy remains continuously in touch with the community with a view to extending all feasible assistance," Jaiswal added.
As the Iran-Israel conflict entered its 7th day on 19 June, multiple reports stated that an Iranian missile struck a prominent hospital in southern Israel, causing "extensive damage" but no casualties or serious injuries. Other Iranian missiles are said to have hit some residential buildings near Tel Aviv.
On the other hand, Israel carried out attacks on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor – around 250 km from Tehran – in an effort to weaken Tehran's nuclear aspirations.
As per US-based group Human Rights Activists, at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed and 1,300 injured in Iran since Israeli missiles rained down across the country on 13 June. On the other hand, at least 24 people have died in Israel due to Iran's retaliatory strikes.