U.S. cyclist recounts tense escape from Iran with Israeli bombs falling

3 hours ago 2

Popping a champagne vessel connected Portugal's Atlantic seashore successful February, 32-year-old American Ian Alexander acceptable retired to fulfill his imagination of biking crossed each 7 continents of the world. He planned to thrust for 10 months, covering astir 10,000 miles to scope his last destination of Japan.

He did not plan, however, for Israel to motorboat a warfare connected Iran.

As helium crossed into Iran connected June 1, Alexander was filled with excitement, and anxiety.

"I was rather nervous. I was like, okay, present we're getting into immoderate uncharted territory here," helium told CBS News connected Thursday from a edifice country successful Azerbaijan's superior of Baku. "But I was instantly enactment astatine easiness with truthful galore affirmative experiences from radical that I met connected the road… and hospitality, generosity."

He said helium was "surprised daily" by kind, funny Iranians inviting him for beverage oregon offering him food, adjacent trying to wage for his repast astatine a restaurant.

On June 13, that changed, erstwhile Israel started bombing Iran's atomic and subject sites.

"Not immoderate outward hostility, but I conscionable benignant of work people's assemblage connection and their facial expressions," said Alexander. "And I knew I was successful rather a spot of danger, due to the fact that radical were seeing Israel and the U.S. arsenic being rather tied unneurotic astatine that point, arsenic the bombs kept falling and the missiles kept striking."

He and his section Iranian guide, Reza, decided to hunker down astatine a guesthouse astir 45 miles northbound of Tehran, successful a colony called Harijan, for 2 days.

Reza, who Alexander said had go his friend, advised him to debar telling radical helium was American, and to debar talking to radical astatine each if possible. But helium said helium slipped up, revealing his nationality to immoderate section travelers who joined them astatine the hotel.

"They weren't blessed astir the information that they were having to stock a edifice with 'that American' that was there," said Alexander.

On June 15, Alexander heard an Israeli weaponry detonate successful the distance. That aforesaid time helium received an email from the U.S. State Department, advising him of options for Americans wishing to permission Iran, based connected their existent locations. He decided his champion stake was an 8 hr thrust north, astir the Caspian Sea, to scope Azerbaijan.

He and Reza were rapidly caught up successful a dependable travel of dense traffic, arsenic residents streamed retired of Tehran. They passed state stations with agelong lines of cars, and galore subject checkpoints.

"It was rather harrowing," helium said. "The thought of possibly being pulled implicit astatine 1 of the subject checkpoints."

"Reza, my guide, had told maine that helium tin nary longer support me, and that truly rattled me, right? Cause, he's my guide. He's my Iranian guide, and precise stable, sturdy, dependable guy. And he's like, 'All right, this is it. Like, you're successful rather a spot of information here. If we're stopped and the constabulary fishy you of something, there's thing I tin do.'"

Alexander said helium became "more and much astatine easiness arsenic we got closer," and they yet made it without incidental to Iran's borderline with Azerbaijan.

But the astir nerve-wracking portion of that last time was astir to begin, arsenic helium was interviewed not once, but doubly by Iranian officials - mean borderline constabulary and past by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.

For the 2nd interview, helium was pulled retired of a assemblage and taken into the backroom of a retention closet successful a makeshift service barracks.

"That's wherever I was like, 'Okay, I've got a 50-50 accidental of being taken either arsenic a bargaining spot oregon for further questioning,'" helium said. "Actually, the interrogation was like, little than a minute."

"I walked retired backmost into the nighttime to get my bicycle and past really participate Azerbaijan, and I fractional expected them to telephone maine back. I was like, 'Something's incorrect here. Um, why, wherefore was this truthful easy?' But they didn't, and I was capable to participate Azerbaijan."

Clear of Iran's net firewall, helium was capable to connection his household successful the U.S. earlier helium checked into the archetypal edifice helium could find, and past slumber for 12 hours successful alleviation and exhaustion.

Now harmless arsenic the Israel-Iran struggle drags on, Alexander said helium thinks a batch astir the imaginable spillover effect for anyone with a U.S. passport surviving and traveling overseas.

He said helium registered his question itinerary with the U.S. State Department's STEP program, which sends country-specific notifications and updates based connected a traveler's movements. It's however helium knew to caput for Azerbaijan, and helium urges each Americans traveling overseas to bash the same.

Alexander besides said if it were not for his Iranian guide, helium mightiness not person made it retired of the country. He hopes to rise wealth for Reza and his family, who are inactive successful Iran.

He besides intends to transportation connected with his motorcycle thrust to Japan, to fulfil his imagination of cycling each of the world's continents.

Ramy Inocencio

Ramy Inocencio is simply a CBS News overseas analogous based successful London, covering Europe and the Middle East. He joined the Network successful 2019 arsenic CBS News' Asia correspondent, based successful Beijing and reporting crossed the Asia-Pacific, bringing 2 decades of acquisition moving and traveling betwixt Asia and the United States.

Read Entire Article