When 63-year-old Hesarakei Nemat landed in Delhi on February 25 for a one-week visit to relatives, he did not expect that three days later his homeland would come under attack. A resident of the city of Qom, south of Tehran, Nemat said the hardest part since the strikes began has been the inability to contact his family back home as bombs fall across Iran.
For the Iranian diaspora in India and abroad—according to official sources, there are around 300 in Delhi—the past two weeks have been tumultuous. Since the February 28 pre-emptive strikes by Israeli and US forces, the conflict has escalated into open war. Iran has since retaliated, and reports by Al Jazeera suggest more than 1,300 civilians in Iran have been killed so far and over 15,000 injured. The strikes also killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Going for therapy, future grey
Leila Ahmadi*, a third-year Iranian PhD student from Tehran, studying in Delhi, described the past weeks as deeply unsettling. The attack made it hard for her to focus on her studies, and she had to undergo therapy to cope with anxiety and tension, though she now feels “stronger”.
Being far from home and being sick with worry about family and friends back home, coupled with helplessness, has compounded her distress. Her mother, visiting Delhi, is now stranded, while her younger sister remains in Iran. Their home suffered partial damage during the strikes, and she last spoke to her sister two days ago.
“Every country has its own internal issues, but that does not justify outside intervention in the name of freedom,” Ahmadi says. “Powerful nations spend billions on interventions without clear strategic interests, and conflicts almost always follow.”
She had considered looking for work in another country, possibly Germany, but it is now a distant dream due to the situation. For now, her priority is to complete her dissertation and return home. “Right now I just want to finish my studies as quickly as possible and go back to Iran,” she says.
Despite the uncertainty, she speaks of resilience. War, she says, inevitably brings loss and pain, but Iranian society has long learned to endure hardship. “There is a long history of struggle and we always fight back," Ahmadi says.
Communication lines hit
Communication with relatives and friends remains difficult as telephone and internet connections back home have been cut. Most communication now happens through the embassy.
At the Iran Cultural House near Mandi House, Delhi, it has been a busy day. A poster of the martyred leader is displayed as people from across India too come to pay their respects. A morning ceremony was held on March 1 at the cultural centre, with close to 3,500–4,000 people attending, says the embassy official who spoke to TMS.
It is a busy time for Ali Hosseini* who works in the cultural department, as he types memos, meets and greets visitors arriving throughout the day. Though born and raised in Hyderabad, his parents migrated from Iran in the 1940s. He later spent nearly two decades in Mashhad, one of Iran’s major religious centres. “Even though I was born and raised in India, my family roots and cultural ties with Iran have always remained strong,” he says.
He says the Iranian embassy has made satellite links to ensure “some contact back to Iran”. While his relatives and friends are safe back in Masshad, civilian casualties are on the rise, and airspace closures and attacks on naval bases have added to the anxiety.
Business anxieties
Iranian business owners in Delhi are also troubled. Hassan Karimi*, an Iranian entrepreneur from Tehran,living in Delhi since 2022, says Iran had already been struggling with inflation and economic recession and that external intervention “often makes matters worse”. In recent days, he has also been helping stranded Iranian families in Delhi find accommodation and other support.
He last contacted his brother, who works in emergency services, three days ago through text. Internet access is extremely limited, and working VPNs that connect to WhatsApp and other services have become expensive over the last 3-4 days, and is almost like a black market. With his brother he can only exchange brief messages, just enough to confirm that the family is safe.
Missing home
As the war rages, with no signs of a halt, Iranians back in Delhi miss their homeland. “I really miss walking in the beautiful neighbourhoods and estates of Tehran," Ahamdi said, her voice heavy with emotion. “I miss meeting my friends and attending festivals, I want to go there for a short visit when things get better,” she said.
“Iran is a great country filled with intellectuals and is also home to great works of art, poetry and theatre, but most importantly it is home. I hope the war ends and Iran returns back to its heydays,” Karimi said.
For Nemat, what was meant to be a short family visit has turned into days of anxious watching and waiting from afar. He is stuck in limbo.
(Names have been changed on request)