Iranians who fled the country before the war with the US and Israel are now watching it unfold, wondering what will happen when it ends.
A Martinez, Host:
This is Morning Edition from NPR News. I’m Martinez from Culver City, California.
Steve Inskip, Host:
I’m Steve Inskip in Washington, DC
Leela Fadel, Host:
And I am Leila Fadel in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. I am not far from the border with Iran, a border that Iranians can often cross. But these days, as the US and Israel pound Iran with airstrikes, that border crossing is closed. Most Iranians in this part made their way in the months and years before these attacks. Many are now looking at the war and wondering, is this the end of the Islamic Republic? Will the fugitives be able to return home soon?
(kitchen urn soundbite)
FADEL: These are questions that 32-year-old Yasir Fattahi(ph) is pondering.
(tea pouring soundbite)
FADEL: Over tea and cookies at his friend’s apartment, he explains why he fled Iran, speaking through interpreter Binar Fiakarin(ph).
YASIR FATTAHI: (Through translator) Because of the pressure on me, my family and my life from the Islamic regime.
Fadel: In 2022, the country erupted in protests after a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Zina Amini, died in police custody. The case inspired the Women, Life, Freedom movement. It was a coup that was brutally suppressed by Iran’s security forces. A nurse named Fattahi secretly treated wounded protesters.
FATTAHI: (Through interpreter) Injuries from shrapnel. There were some kind of bullet wounds that I have never seen in my life.
FADEL: And they don’t go to the hospital, like, the hospital you worked at?
FATTAHI: (Through translator) He wasn’t going to the hospital because if he did go to the hospital, he was arrested for crimes against the government or more severe punishment by the government.
FADEL: Around this time, a teenage family friend was shot and killed. As friends and family gathered to mourn, security forces opened fire on the procession, killing Fattahi’s father.
excuse me
FATTAHI: (Through translator) This is what we have to pay for freedom.
FADEL: His family has been paying for the interrogation and harassment ever since. When intelligence officials told Fattah it was not the regime that killed his father, he refused to lie. He fled Iran a few months ago, thinking his arrest was imminent. In January, he again witnessed protests across the country. Thousands of people were killed by security forces protesting Iran’s collapsing economy. So when the US and Israeli attacks began, when they assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, they were enthusiastic.
FATTAHI: (Through interpreter) It was unbelievable. Khushi didn’t know what to do. But at the same time, I was hoping that he wouldn’t be killed so we could bring him to justice and answer for all the crimes he committed because you don’t end a dictatorship by killing a dictator.
Fadel: He says he’s under no illusion that Trump’s goal is human rights and democracy for Iranians.
FATTAHI: (Through translator) Trump doesn’t care if I live or not. But we hope that this war will weaken the Iranian regime so that the people can finish the job.
Binar Fiakarin: Anywhere you feel.
Fayeg Rasouli: (Speaks a language other than English).
FADEL: In Irbil, a three-hour drive away, we meet Fayeg Rasouli(ph).
Rasouli: (Speaks a language other than English).
Fiaccarin: Sit there. sorry We don’t have couches.
Fadel: No, it’s great.
We sit on the floor. He is holding a folder in his hand.
What is this folder?
Rasouli: (Speaks a language other than English).
FADEL: So you can’t see it right now, but they’re showing a folder and it’s basically a chart with pictures of children that they say the Iranian government has killed.
Dozens of children’s lives were cut short in 2022, when Fattahi’s friend and father were killed in the same protest. Rasouli is one of the many activists documenting these killings.
RASOULI: (Through translator) Zakaria Khayal, a 16-year-old boy, was shot and killed. He was 50 meters away from me during the protest.
(page turning soundbite)
RASOULI: (through speaker, crying) 9-year-old, 8-year-old, 7-year-old kids. Only 7 years old. What does a 7 year old do?
(page turning soundbite)
GISSOU NIA: This is a grassroots documentation collection that will inform the work of NGOs in this space.
Fadel: Gissou Nia is a US-based human rights lawyer. They say witness accounts of alleged crimes by the Iranian regime could make prosecution possible.
NIA: Eyewitness testimony of a nurse is admissible in court. The guy who has the file on all the children who were killed, you know, he’s really the backbone of the sources of information that we get from the country.
Fadel: Her job as a human rights lawyer is complicated right now.
NIA: People have expressed to me that they wish Ali Khamenei was also in the dock, in the court dock and facing criminal charges. But what I will say is that most people were grateful that now at least they had some sort of luck. And I think many people realize the impossibility of bringing him into a courtroom. This is a man who has not traveled outside of Iran since 1989, or at least since he took over as supreme leader. So no one had the idea of traveling somewhere where he could be arrested or extradited. He could potentially be tried in a future free Iran, but to move to a future free Iran, if he remains in power, will that happen?
So I think a lot of them would agree that given the actual circumstances, you know that’s the best outcome they could hope for. And we have seen many celebrations within the country. If I can be really honest, it’s a difficult reality to deal with, but I have to be guided by a victim-centred approach to it. And when victims feel a deep sense of relief and celebration, this is part of this reality. It’s complicated.
Fadel: The Islamic Republic is in a fight for its life. Whether it survives or not will determine the fate of those in power and those they have ruled for decades. For now, people like Fayeg Rasouli and Yasir Fattahi wait, and waiting is hard. Here again is Fattah.
FATTAHI: (Through interpreter) Life is good here, but at the same time, I don’t have a job. The situation here is quite tough.
Fadel: His family is still in Iran. His brother is dying…
Fattahi: ALS.
Fadel: … ALS. When we ask how he is, he breaks down for the first time.
FATTAHI: (Through speaker, crying) Only his eyes work.
Fadel: Due to the ongoing internet blackout, he cannot reach his family.
FATTAHI: (Through translator) I sent texts and messages to my family, but I received no response.
Fadel: Until something changes, Yasir Fattahi going home is too risky.
(“The Bluebird” soundbite by Joseph Tawadros)
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. For more information visit our Website Terms of Use and Permissions pages at www.npr.org.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or accommodate updates to the audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The official record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
