Protests related to economic difficulties, unemployment, inflation, social injustice, and political representation in Iran have been ongoing for more than 10 days. The police are intervening harshly against the protesters. There are even those who have lost their lives as a result of police gunfire.
In such a situation, there is no doubt that the number of people leaving the country and heading to safer places is increasing.
It is of interest where Iranians are migrating to and which countries they are seeking refuge in.
Ahmad Obali, founder and head of Günaz.TV, stated in his remarks to Modern.az that more than 90% of those fleeing Iran go to Turkey:
“Previously, those going to Turkey applied to the UN. Now, they apply to the police in Turkey. However, in the past, those fleeing Iran went to countries like the USA, Canada, and Great Britain. Currently, only the Turkish police can say how large the wave of migration is. We simply cannot provide a figure now, but in the current situation, those fleeing Iran certainly exist, and they mainly go to Turkey.”
A. Obali noted that based on these events, there are also those leaving South Azerbaijan:
"This is undoubtedly true, as 35% of the society is Azerbaijani. Naturally, there will be those leaving the country. Now, there might be more South Azerbaijanis from Tehran moving to Turkey."
Sadiq Isabayli, a member of the Board of Directors of the South Azerbaijan National Liberation Front (CAMAC), emphasized that individuals holding various positions in Iran are leaving the country:
“There is almost no official statistics or statement regarding this issue. Journalists, including parliamentarians in Great Britain, have reported on officials fleeing the country called Iran and going to various countries.
In France, a journalist named Emmanuel Rezevi stated in an interview that at least 20 families of officials from the country called Iran have applied for visas to live in France. The names of Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Qalibaf were also mentioned. It is true that the regime denies this.
On the other hand, it is indicated that influential individuals working in Iran's military and security agencies, and active in economic sectors, have also applied to the security agencies of Great Britain. They have promised a lot of confidential information, seeking British citizenship in return.
Furthermore, there are several similar issues in China, where individuals associated with SEPAH were tasked by the regime to circumvent the embargo, creating fake companies to sell goods and receive money. They have also largely fled the country. Specifically, people in the oil sector were entrusted with returning money to the country. According to reports, 15 billion dollars have not been returned in the last 3 weeks.
The money provided by China was sent to Dubai, where it was to be exchanged, either for goods or returned to the country as cash. However, all the money has been embezzled. Several countries are mentioned here. Primarily, distant countries like Europe and the USA are on the agenda. Countries on the agenda also include Russia, Turkey, and China.”
S. Isabayli stated that the public, political, and social status of the fleeing individuals plays a key role:
“For example, those working in security agencies mostly head to Europe. Some even try to establish contact with Israel, attempting to obtain asylum there on the condition of providing information.
Those working in the economic sector, however, mostly head to China. They try to establish a position for themselves there. Those close to the religious leadership and its circle, for example, high-ranking officials in SEPAH-Pasdaran, turn to Russia. Russia would not even allow the information they possess about relations between Russia and Iran to be transferred to Europe or other countries. If such a situation were to occur, Russian security agencies would eliminate them. The process of leaving the country has begun irreversibly and this process will continue. Individuals working in security agencies, parliament, and executive structures, who cooperate with European security agencies and transmit information, will head to the countries they work with.
As I mentioned, those working with England would not go to Russia, and those working with Israel would not go to China. However, the desire of officials to flee the country called Iran is a very serious factor. No matter how much the regime denies it, a certain degree of truth remains. In many cases, we also see money and gold being smuggled out of the country.”
