'Blasts every 10 to 15 minutes': Dehradun couple trapped in Iran as bombing intensifies

DEHRADUN: A young couple from Dehradun stranded in Iran's Qom city are living amid constant bombardment and brief, anxious calls home, with family members saying the attacks have grown so frequent that they now measure time between blasts. The family said the couple want to return to India, but continuing strikes, the risks of land travel and high airfares have left them trapped.Ali Haider, 24, and his newly married wife Noor Jahan, 20, from Ambari village in Vikasnagar, had travelled to Iran around four years ago to pursue Islamic studies, with Haider based in Qom and Noor in Ashtian. As the conflict has intensified, their family in Dehradun said the two are now caught in a situation that has left both those in Iran and those at home in a state of uncertainty.Haider's brother, Sekhar Ali, told TOI that Qom, one of Iran's main centres of Islamic learning, had come under repeated attacks. "Haider told us there are bombings every 10 to 15 minutes, sometimes just metres away from where they are staying. Around two days ago, there was a huge blast barely 50 metres away, and the whole building shook," he said, adding that the sound of airstrikes and sirens was not allowing them to sleep.The calls from Iran have become rare and unpredictable, he said, because connectivity remains poor. "There is no fixed time when he calls to tell us what is happening. We are able to speak only once in two or three days, and that too for a few minutes," Sekhar said. "We also can hardly sleep. We keep watching television and checking our phones for updates. Our entire focus stays on the phone so that we do not miss his call."The family said the couple want to leave Iran, but the conditions on the ground have made that difficult. Sekhar said embassy officials had told them that exit was possible through the Armenia or Azerbaijan border by land, but the family believed that route carried its own risks because of the strikes. "The embassy officials have informed that they can leave via the Armenia or Azerbaijan border by land, but that is too risky due to constant bombings. Also, the air tickets have become too costly, which is also a significant constraint. We just hope that the situation subsides soon and they return home safely," he said.