Taiwanese traveler recalls chaotic journey out of Iran

Kyiv, Ukraine, June 19 (CNA) A Taiwanese woman recently stranded during her visit to Iran following Israel's attack on the Persian state shared with CNA the chaotic scenes she witnessed across the country and the exodus of people from Tehran, after reaching Turkey late Monday.

Kang Cheng-hsuan (康承暄), 24, told CNA that she started her journey in Isfahan, southern Iran on Sunday, first heading to Tehran to buy a bus ticket to leave the country.

However, Kang said she heard explosions upon her arrival in the Iranian capital, and estimated there were more than 3,000 people trying to leave Tehran.

Kang herself spent four hours before obtaining a ticket to the northwest part of the country, she said, remembering seeing thousands of people around the bus station.

Despite the explosions, and smoke near where she was, Kang said she had remained calm because "local residents are still managing to live a normal life, and media reports said the attacks mainly targeted government buildings.

The Taiwanese traveler made it across the border between Iran and Turkey just before midnight Monday, and then took another bus to Istanbul, where she has booked a seat on a flight departing for Bangkok Thursday, she told CNA.

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran began with missile attacks launched by Israel last Friday, and the two countries have continued to bomb strategic targets over the past week.

U.S. President Donald Trump has urged American citizens to leave Iran as soon as possible, while Italy, Poland Ukraine and China have begun evacuating their citizens.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli armed forces said they launched several waves of missile attacks targeting locations in Tehran and military facilities around the Iranian capital.

While Trump demanded Iran's unconditional surrender Tuesday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump's call during his second public appearance since the air strike began, the Associated Press reported.

Khamenei rejected Trump's calls for surrender despite more Israeli strikes Wednesday and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause "irreparable damage to them," AP reported.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said three Taiwan nationals in Iran have traveled to Turkey, and 20 Taiwanese in Israel have traveled to neighboring Jordan since Sunday.