Pakistani Evacuees Recount Terror of US-Israel Strikes on Tehran

Pakistanis who fled Iran after the outbreak of the US-Israel military campaign recounted harrowing scenes of missile strikes, collapsing buildings, and a once-bustling Tehran reduced to near-deserted streets choked with fire and smoke.

The conflict has escalated dramatically, with a US submarine sinking an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka and NATO air defence systems intercepting an Iranian missile fired toward Türkiye. Most regional airspace has been closed due to the threat of missiles striking civilian aircraft, forcing governments to scramble evacuation operations.

Hareem Zahra, a 23-year-old Pakistani student at the Tehran University of Engineering, described the moment a powerful explosion rocked her university building while she was in class. She said thick smoke was visible rising from multiple buildings on fire across the city, and that Tehran was still under attack when she left.

Pakistan's ambassador to Tehran, Mudassir Tipu, said nearly 1,000 students, businessmen, and pilgrims had crossed the border into Pakistan out of an estimated 35,000 Pakistanis in the country. He noted significant communication disruptions, as internet connectivity had been cut off across most of Iran.

Iran has launched retaliatory ballistic missile barrages targeting Israel and several of Washington's Gulf allies — including Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia — following the US-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A Pakistani diplomat still stationed in Tehran described repeated waves of attacks occurring every four to five hours, with buildings collapsed and others ablaze, calling the capital a ghost town.