At Iran's border, those fleeing the war speak of an unbearable choice: endure the regime or risk everything to see it fall.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
NPR has reporters all over the Middle East covering the war in Iran. Iran itself is off limits to most Western journalists, so we've sent correspondents to Iran's borders with Iraq and Turkey. NPR's Emily Feng has been speaking with Iranians crossing into Turkey. Emily, what have you been hearing?
EMILY FENG, BYLINE: So Iranians have been telling us about hearing bombardment, especially if they're in Tehran, all the last month. They've also told us about heavy Iranian security on the streets, and there have been a few people who have criticized this war.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Persian).
FENG: This man says here, for example, that he believes Israel is bombing Iran to expand its borders as part of a greater Israel plan. Like all Iranians in this story, he wanted to stay anonymous because speaking to foreign media carries the risk of arrest in Iran. Some people even told us there were signs on some roads in Iran warning them not to speak to journalists. But the vast majority of Iranians did not share that first man's view. They're coming with their friends and with their families to this crossing that I've been meeting people in these chilly, snow-covered mountains to the east of Turkey. And most people told us they supported the strikes. Here's one.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Persian).
FENG: She's saying, "we needed a foreign military intervention to save us. The U.S. and Israel already killed the former Supreme Leader Khamenei, and I hope they kill the rest of the leadership soon." It was shocking to hear her bluntness and to hear people celebrating foreign governments killing Iranian leaders, and that stuck with me. And so I've been asking people all week to explain why they feel this way.
MARTÍNEZ: And why did they feel this way?
FENG: The simple answer is Iranians feel they have gone through a degree of suffering under Iran's theocratic regime that is unendurable. And they say that they will risk death in order to see their government fall. Here is another man we spoke to whose hometown was really active in these anti-government protests in January.
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