Stranded Iranians turn to land routes to leave Türkiye

VAN

The closure of airspace amid the Iran-Israel tensions has forced many people from the Middle East stranded in Türkiye to return their countries via land routes.

Following Israel’s June 13 strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran and Tehran’s subsequent missile retaliation, Türkiye initially suspended flights to Iran, Iraq, Syria and Jordan until on June 15. Türkiye has not yet announced whether it will extend the airspace closure decision.

Iranians who were in Türkiye and seeking to return home began traveling overland. Crossings at the Kapıköy Border Gate in the eastern province of Van’s Saray district continued on Sunday.

Media footage showed some Iranians waiting with their suitcases in front of tourism company offices, while operators responded to the surge in demand by scheduling additional trips.

“I’m coming from Tehran as a tourist. My return flight was scheduled for Sunday [yesterday], but after flights were canceled, we had no choice but to come to the border. Many of my friends are in the same situation,” an Iranian man told Demirören News Agency.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s Ambassador to Türkiye, Majid Al-Lajmavi, confirmed that the Iraqi Embassy in Ankara has been in direct and ongoing coordination with Turkish authorities to ensure the continued implementation of a policy allowing Iraqi citizens, who entered from a third country and wish to return home only via land routes, to obtain special visas.

This measure would be facilitated through the Ibrahim Khalil Border Gate while Iraqi airspace remains closed, the ambassador said.