Latest news with #PanidBorhanjoo
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Canadians fleeing war in Iran face obstacles in absence of diplomatic ties
Canadian physician Panid Borhanjoo woke up on Friday morning in Iran's cottage country to an onslaught of messages from family and friends asking if he was safe. He turned on the news in his relatives' home in Mazandaran, a lush, coastal province on the Caspian Sea. Israeli missiles had destroyed Iranian nuclear facilities and killed high-ranking military personnel in Tehran, about 200 kilometres away. War had erupted. Dr. Borhanjoo and his family packed their belongings and returned to their apartment in Tehran, the Iranian capital. He had visited his home country many times, despite years of travel warnings and sporadic missile strikes. But now, on this visit, he was hearing missiles fly overhead and explode nearby, and watching smoke and flames billow out of a building across the street. He knew he had to leave. Canada, which severed diplomatic relations with Iran more than a decade ago, had announced no plans to stage an evacuation. Dr. Borhanjoo tried calling Canadian embassies in Turkey and Syria but there was no answer. He quickly realized he could not depend on his own government for help. 'If this country wasn't going to provide me with a safe way out, which it didn't seem like, I had to find my own way out,' he said in an interview on Wednesday. Iran's escalating conflict with Israel has prompted Global Affairs Canada to urge Canadians in Iran to leave the country. However, Canadians trying to get out are largely on their own, with Iranian airspace closed and border crossings difficult and dangerous. The Canadian government cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012 for supporting terrorist regimes and violating human rights. As a result, the ability of Canadian officials to provide assistance in Iran is 'extremely limited,' according to Global Affairs' Iran travel advisory. Canada's relations with Tehran stuck in deep freeze, despite Iranian hopes Evacuation operations require co-ordinating efforts with local authorities, which is not possible in the current climate, said Christian Leuprecht, a military expert and government relations professor at Queen's University and Royal Military College. 'Unless there's a significant change in the political conditions in Iran, nobody's evacuating anybody from Iran,' Prof. Leuprecht added. There are more than 4,000 Canadians in Iran registered with Global Affairs. During emergencies while abroad, Canadians are typically encouraged to go to the Canadian embassy or the U.S. embassy. Iran has neither. The closest Canadian embassy is in Turkey, roughly 2,000 kilometres from Tehran. 'The advice in those situations will usually be that it is the responsibility of citizens,' Prof. Leuprecht said. 'It is your responsibility as a citizen to find your way out of the country and if you can find your way out of the country, then we will help to repatriate you. The problem is there's very few places where Canadians could seek shelter.' The conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, with the United States now threatening to intervene. Israel and Iran have so far exchanged hundreds of missiles. A timeline of the Israel-Iran conflict and tensions between the two countries 'In terms of Canada being able to co-ordinate … a mass exodus, it's super challenging in a war zone,' said Dennis Horak, Canada's last Head of Mission to Tehran. 'Nobody really has any good options at this point in trying to help people get out.' Canadians have limited escape routes. Theft and kidnapping are not uncommon along the Iranian land borders. Bandits patrol Iran's border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, enduring conflict keeps Iran's border with Iraq closed, and roads leading to Turkey and Azerbaijan are dilapidated. Dr. Borhanjoo did not wait for a response from Canada. He planned his escape route early on Saturday morning. Within hours he had secured a driver and was headed to Turkey, where he made it across the mountainous border at night and caught a flight from Van to Istanbul, and then to Toronto, on Tuesday. 'I think anyone who has the capacity to leave the country should leave,' he said. However, in the few days since Dr. Borhanjoo fled, the roads leaving Tehran have become crowded with vehicles, making it more difficult to get out. He fears for his family sheltering in Iran, who are older and less mobile. Despite living in Canada for 21 years, Dr. Borhanjoo says his heart and soul are still in Iran. But he is unsure when he will be able to return. 'I don't foresee the rest of the country even being safe any more. I don't think Iran in general is a safe place to be,' he said.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
‘This is the last time I'll see you': One Canadian doctor's story of escaping war in Iran
Adrian Ghobrial speaks with Canadians in Israel and Iran as they describe the terrifying threat of airstrikes from both sides. Panid Borhanjoo was rocked from his bed when an apartment building near his family home took a direct hit. He recalls hearing loud, rattling explosions from less than a kilometre away. Borhanjoo, a doctor from Hamilton, Ont., was visiting family in Tehran when Israel unleashed deadly airstrikes against the capital city. He considers himself one of the fortunate few who've managed to get out of Iran through a land border crossing into Turkiye, but it has come at a personal cost. 'I had to leave and say goodbye to (my family) in Tehran which was very emotional, especially my mom who hugged me and said, 'this is the last time I'll see you.'' After taking a moment to ponder the harsh possibilities of war, Barhanjoo shares that 'its possible, as sad as it is for me to say.' So far, officials in Iran say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 224 people and wounded more than 1,200. Israeli officials say Iranian strikes have killed 24 people in Israel and wounded more than 500. Approaching the Razi-Kapiköy border crossing between Iran and Turkey, he watched missiles cross the night sky. On the ground, there were other risks. 'There's a lot of mugging and kidnapping happening, because there are a lot of people with money trying to cross the border. It's a very risky and unsafe process,' said Barhanjoo, who added his driver carries a gun for protection. This week, U.S. President Donald Trump told everyone in Tehran – a city of nearly 10 million people – to evacuate, something Barhanjoo says is simply impossible for hundreds of thousands of Iranians. 'There are only a few roads that connect Tehran to those neighbouring provinces. It's extremely unrealistic to assume that all these people can just get on a road somehow, all together in a matter of hours, get to safety,' said the doctor. He noted Tehran does not have a network of highways comparable to a similarly sized North American city. Iran Israel Mideast Wars A man carries a wounded girl after an explosion in downtown Tehran amid Israel's three-day campaign of strikes against Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Morteza Zangene/ISNA) Barhanjoo believes he was fortunate, because he made his own call to try and get out of the country before Trump wrote his evacuation notice. Now, 'all the roads are jammed, all the highways are gridlocked,' he said. 'The lineup to get at gas stations when I was travelling was three hours. You're limited to about 10 litres of fuel, which is nothing.' Commercial airspace over Iran has been completely closed for days as incoming rockets pose a danger to aircraft in the region. Speaking to CTV News just hours before boarding a flight from Istanbul to Toronto, Barhanjoo's heart is with his family, friends and loved ones trapped in the grips of war inside Iran. When asked if he has a message to share with his fellow Canadians, Barhanjoo shares his view that 'regular people are paying the price for this (conflict). What I want to see is the immediate de-escalation of this war because there are millions of people who are going to be without homes, without incomes, without food, without safety. The way things are going right now, I would hate to see Tehran become the next Gaza.'
