Iranian-Canadians are trying desperately to get in touch with friends and family in Iran as missiles fall and routes out of the country are limited.
Mina Morshed, who lives in Toronto, says her parents in Tehran are sick and unable to leave.
In a brief phone conversation Friday, her mother told her the bombing had started and had to hang up. Morshed wasn’t able to reach her family members on Wednesday.
“I’m very upset and worried about them,” she told CBC News Network.
Iranian Canadian says she’s worried about family, hopes for peace
Iran’s communications ministry says it has restricted internet access to defend against Israeli cyberattacks amid ongoing violence between the two countries, making contact even more difficult.
Morshed says she tries not to pass her stress onto her kids, but she says they’re also becoming worried and asking what will happen if their grandma and grandpa die.
“I explained, ‘Don’t worry, they’re strong enough. They’ll try to protect themselves,’ ” she said.
Israel launched the first strikes of an air campaign against Iran last week, kicking off an exchange of missile fire between the two countries.
A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 585 people, including 239 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded.
Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds.
Global Affairs Canada says more than 4,000 Canadians were registered as being in Iran as of Tuesday evening, with more than 6,600 Canadians in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Because registration is voluntary, these numbers are likely an undercount.
Both Iran and Israel have suspended outgoing flights.
Thousands have fled Tehran by car, spending hours in gridlocked traffic amid warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump to immediately evacuate the city of 10 million.
Many are stuck there — including those who are elderly and others who can’t afford to leave.
Iranian-Canadians reflect on conflict between Iran and Israel
Besat Zardosht, in London, Ont., said she’s happy to be safe in Canada with her daughter, but worries about her friends, nieces and nephews in Iran.
She says she’s been urging her loved ones to relocate to a different city where it may be safer.
“My heart just wants to explode hearing from them and being here and not being able to do much,” Zardosht said.
Sara Shariati told CBC Vancouver she’s been struggling to get in touch with her dad, a dual Canadian-Iranian citizen, and worries she might not see him again.
“It’s a very scary time,” she said. “I think a lot of Iranians in the diaspora, me included, feel helpless.”
Global Affairs Canada says Canadians in Iran have three border crossing options to enter Turkey, and one option to enter Armenia.
Dr. Panid Borhanjoo, who lives in Hamilton and was visiting family in Tehran, managed to find a driver to take him to the border where he crossed into Turkey.
There, he was able to catch a flight from Istanbul to Toronto. But he told CBC Hamilton that he thought he might be killed in the process as bombs were falling. And of course, he’s still worried about the family he left behind.
“When my mom hugged me, she said, ‘If this is the last time I’m seeing you, I love you.’ That’s not something I’ll ever be able to forget,” he said.
Global Affairs Canada says it has not received any reports of Canadians injured or killed in the region, but said Monday that Canada had moved four non-critical personnel and 20 dependents out of Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
Canadians face challenges fleeing Israel-Iran conflict
The department says Canadians in Israel can cross ground borders, with three exits leading to Jordan and one exit to leading to Egypt.
Global Affairs Canada is encouraging Canadians in the Middle East to register through the Registration of Canadians Abroad Service, if they have not already, to receive important updates.
The Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Representative Office of Canada in Ramallah remain operational for Canadians in Israel or the West Bank, but obtaining consular services is more difficult in Iran, where Canada has not had an embassy since 2012.
The government is advising Canadians to avoid all travel to Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and to avoid non-essential travel to Lebanon and Jordan.
