A disabled Iranian father and his son returned to the Islamic Republic from a trip to Syria, to which they had traveled to visit the Arab country’s holy sites, after being surrounded and harassed by militants apparently due to their Shia faith and Iranian origin.
Ali-Akbar Aboutaleb and his 13-year-old son, Ja’afar, had travelled to Syria following the country’s takeover by Western- and Israeli-backed militants.
They, however, faced complications as they sought to return home after facing militants from the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants, who overthrew Syria’s democratically-elected government in December amid escalated deadly aggression by the Israeli regime against Syria’s military and civilian infrastructures.
The due have attracted social media fame due to their standing by their beliefs, despite harassment by the HTS militants, who taunted them for their faith and Iranian origin.
They, however, managed to travel to Moscow from the Russian airbase in Syria’s Hmeimim port city on Friday and are expected to reach Iran in the coming day.
Despite being insulted by the militants, the Iranian father apparently retained his composure.
The militants ousted the government of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad amid intense Israeli attacks against the country.
Earlier on January 10, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that the necessary arrangements had been made to facilitate the return of Esfahani, who had traveled to Syria for a pilgrimage to the holy sites but was unable to leave due to the developments in the country.
With the cooperation of relevant parties in Syria and efforts by the Foreign Ministry, the Iranian national and his child were able to depart Syria on Friday, he said.
Baghaei also expressed gratitude to all involved in the humanitarian efforts, emphasizing that the Foreign Ministry remains committed to assisting Iranian citizens abroad.
RHM/