Ruth Sherlock

And going back is the only way to reach them.

Ruth Sherlock, NPR News on the Turkish-Iranian border.

A regular stream of minibuses arrives at the Turkish side of this remote northern border with Iran.

They're full of Iranians who are crossing back into their country at this time of war.

It's exactly at hard times, at difficult times, that people need to go back to their country, says Shahram Mirzai.

and be next to their loved ones.

He's been working on a construction site in Turkey, but now he's on his way to Urmia, south of the border, to be with his wife and four children.

He wants to be with them, but he's also worried about leaving his job and how the family will manage without an income.

Ruth Sherlock, NPR News in Turkey, on the border with Iran.

Hi, good morning.

Well, Michelle, people are coming out traumatized.

You know, Iran isn't letting...

Western journalists into the country, but speaking with Iranians here on the border, it really drives home the horror of this war for civilians.

Everyone was too scared to give their name.

As speaking with Western media has gotten people arrested in Iran, this man talked about his journey out.

It's a little hard to hear, but he's saying there was bombing through the night as he traveled, children killed in Iran.

He says he and his family have come to Turkey for shelter.

I also spoke with a doctor from Tehran who described the terror of being engulfed in smoke and feeling the backblast of a strike that hit close to her car on the journey out.

She says she's also witnessing many, many civilian casualties from these strikes.

You know, these are densely packed neighborhoods.