DEHRADUN: As the world anxiously focused on Iran and Trump’s deadline to “destroy Iranian civilization” drew closer, Iranians in India said they spent the night in fear, checking the news every minute and worrying about the safety of their families back home. The announcement of a ceasefire almost at the last moment brought relief, but many said the anxiety of the previous few hours had left them shaken and hoping the pause would hold.Mahsa, an Iranian living in Hyderabad who agreed to be identified only by her first name, told TOI that she feared for her family in Tehran as attacks on civilian infrastructure increased and the threat of large-scale destruction loomed. “With increase in attacks on the civilian infrastructure in Iran and threat of mass destruction after the deadline, I was afraid for my country and family in Tehran. Sitting here in India, I was very scared about the possible outcome of not cracking a deal before the end of that fanatical threat of ending the Iranian civilization. Thankfully, the ceasefire was reached just in time,” she said.She said her family lived in Tehran’s Gisha neighborhood and that the hours before the ceasefire were among the most difficult she had experienced while being away from home. Like many other Iranians in India, she said she called her family as soon as she heard about the pause in hostilities, both to check on their well-being and to share her relief.Reza, another Iranian who has been living in Delhi for the past four years, said he too was deeply worried about his family, but at the same time believed in the resilience of the Iranian people. “We were scared thinking of massive escalation of the tensions in case of no deal, but at the same time also knew that what Trump said, was to be taken with a pinch of salt. Our civilization has been there for over 7,000 years and survived many invasions. It is not easy to finish us. We just hope that our homeland will get the much needed time to mourn the lives lost in this senseless war and rebuild into a more prosperous Iran. We hope to soon visit our family by visiting our motherland,” he said.Many Iranians in India, including Mahsa, had also been running a social media campaign against the targeting of civilian infrastructure in their country. They said attacks on power plants, roads and universities amounted to an assault on the foundations of Iranian society itself and had added to the fear among families living far away from home.At the same time, some Iranians in India said there was also disappointment among a section of people over the ceasefire. Mohammed Kashmeri, who lives in Delhi, said, “Many believed that by accepting the ceasefire, the US would be leaving the business unfinished. They should have left only after completely routing the Islamic regime. There is a fear among them now that the regime will now become more aggressive. But we just hope that the violence of all sorts should end in Iran and the country gets together for a better future.“
