Iran was thrown into conflict after being targeted by coordinated strikes from Israel and the United States, according to major media reports. Among those who left Iran amidst the bombardments is Haiti's record goalscorer, Duckens Nazon, a 31-year-old forward who plays for Iranian top-tier side Esteghlal. He has subsequently returned to France, his birthplace, after departing Tehran shortly following the commencement of the attacks.
Nazon said, 'I left the capital just as the bombings started. I was already on the plane, ready to take off for Istanbul. ' He was accompanied by former Barcelona forward Munir El Haddadi during their evacuation from Tehran.
I'm fine, but I'm very tired and shaken by this very eventful journey. I left two and a half or three days ago (he arrived in France on Tuesday morning). I left the capital just as the bombings started. I was already on the plane, ready to take off for Istanbul.
While traveling by taxi back towards Tehran, they observed a missile detonation adjacent to them. Nazon described the scene: 'We saw a bombing right next to us. The missile had just exploded nearby.
It was truly a war zone. ' Nazon soon embarked on a journey towards Azerbaijan in a minibus but was rejected by border guards at Azerbaijan. Following intervention from the French ambassador to Azerbaijan, he managed to reach Baku and subsequently France.
We had to disembark the plane urgently, and we were told that the airspace was closed because the bombings had begun.
More than 1,000 individuals have died in the hostilities according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, and many others have abandoned Iran seeking sanctuary. Nazon is unsure of when he'll be able to return to Esteghlal and has not had contact with his Iranian teammates due to no internet at the club.