After U.S. strikes, Londoners with family in Iran worry what comes next

With the United States now progressive successful Israel's warfare with Iran, Iranians surviving successful London accidental they stay disquieted astir the information of their loved ones overseas, and fearfulness what whitethorn travel adjacent successful the escalating conflict.

It comes arsenic the Iranian authorities weighs however oregon whether to retaliate successful effect to astonishment U.S. strikes connected 3 atomic sites successful the country, which U.S. President Donald Trump claimed "completely and wholly obliterated" Iran's cardinal atomic enrichment facilities.

An ongoing connection blackout is lone adding to their concerns, incapable for days to scope household and friends who find themselves chopped disconnected from the world, arsenic good arsenic reliable, updated accusation astir the war.

"For the past 10 days we possibly doubly were capable to interaction Iran, but close now, the enactment of connection is wholly cut. We cannot get a clasp of them, they cannot adjacent telephone us," said Londoner Mo Akbari, who has siblings, cousins and extended household successful the country.

"A mates of days agone — I conjecture the net was connected for possibly a abbreviated play of clip — immoderate of our household members, my brother, called and said they're OK."

Efforts to scope them done encrypted apps similar WhatsApp and Telegram person proven unsuccessful, helium said. VPNs person besides been unreliable, thing astir Iranian net users utilize to bypass authorities censorship, according to a survey from Iran's Parliamentary Research Centre.

One interest is what Iran whitethorn bash next. 

The U.S. involution comes amid Israel's nine-day warfare with Iran, which it's said is aimed astatine destroying the country's atomic program, amid claims Iran could rapidly assemble a atomic weapon. 

In a statement, the Iranian-Canadian Congress condemned the U.S. strikes "in the strongest terms," saying they "recklessly ran the hazard of untold harm to Iran's colonisation with atomic fallout by bombing civilian atomic infrastructure sites."

The UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Iran said determination were nary contiguous signs of radioactive contamination astatine the 3 locations pursuing the strikes.

Iran has maintained its programme is for peaceful purposes only, and U.S. quality agencies person assessed that it's not actively pursuing a bomb. 

It's apical diplomat, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, warned successful a station connected X that the U.S. attacks "will person everlasting consequences," that the U.S. had "crossed a precise large reddish line," and that Tehran "reserves each options" to retaliate. 

Iran launched a barrage of missiles against Israel overnight and into Sunday.

Some experts who person spoken with CBC News interest the U.S. attacks could incentivize Iran to physique a atomic limb faster, and extremity practice with IAEA and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Ehsan Zareei, whose parents, siblings and different relatives are successful Iran, said helium wasn't amazed that the U.S. was involved, fixed its subject capabilities successful reaching the fortified, underground atomic sites. 

The sentiment among immoderate Iranians, helium said, was that immoderate state coming to assistance Iranians liberate themselves from the authorities was a affirmative thing, however, U.S. officials said Sunday that the cognition was not open-ended and "was not and has not been astir authorities change."

In the end, helium worries it's the Iranian radical who volition look the wrath of the authorities successful the aftermath done accrued brutality and repression.

"The regime, they mightiness not person the tools and everything to basal against Israel and the U.S. and immoderate different conjugation abroad, but they are well-equipped to basal against the radical of Iran," helium said.

"Scores of people" person been arrested successful Iran since the warfare began connected June 13, accused of collaborating with Israel, and the authorities has made authoritative statements ordering expedited trials and executions for them, Amnesty International said Friday.

Zareei says the champion lawsuit script was that outer unit from different countries weakens the authorities and emboldens the Iranian people.

"At immoderate point, radical are going to beryllium uprising, coming to the streets," helium said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for de-escalation, saying the U.S. subject enactment was "designed to alleviate" threats posed by Iran, but said the concern successful the Middle East remains "highly volatile."

He reiterated Canada's presumption that Iran indispensable ne'er beryllium allowed to make a atomic weapon. 

Maral Akbari, Mo's daughter, was calved successful Canada and is among those successful the Iranian diaspora who judge the U.S. enactment was indispensable to halt a planetary menace successful Iran's atomic program.

"We're not 100 per cent not worried, but honestly, we're much relieved, due to the fact that we benignant of cognize what the authorities mindset is ... like, for years, they've been precise wide for shouting, 'Death to Israel' and 'Death to America,'" she said.

"For each of us, we're much relieved, but we're inactive connected borderline due to the fact that we don't cognize what's going to hap next."