SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man said he is concerned about the safety of relatives in Iran in the wake of a threat that President Donald Trump made against that country recently on social media.
In his post, Trump promised that “a whole civilization will die” Tuesday night if Iran failed to strike a war-related deal with the United States.
About an hour and a half before his latest deadline, Trump announced he will pull back on his threats for two weeks, subject to Iran agreeing to ceasefire, the Associated Press reported.
According to the AP, Trump said in a social media post that Iran could agree “to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz” and said that he’d then “suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.”
“I get sad, I’m sad all the time,” Ramin Samandari said. “Why is it like this?”
Samandari, who left Iran just ahead of the 1979 regime change, said he has been struggling to understand what is happening now.
Samandari, the owner of a South town art studio, has been chronicling the people of his native land in photographs for decades.
While images of Iran are never far from his sight, relatives he left behind have been out of reach since shortly after the war started.
“Professionals,” he said, speaking of his first cousins in Tehran. “One’s a doctor, one’s an engineer, and I haven’t heard from any of them.”
Samandari said he has tried calling and sending messages, but they have gone unanswered, most likely due to internet issues.
In the meantime, all he has been able to do is worry and wonder if they are OK.
“I’m supposed to not get stressed too much. I had a heart attack five years ago,” Samandari said.
The self-described news junkie said he has been glued to his TV and internet, scouring each for the latest updates on Iran.
Samandari said he has heard from others in San Antonio who also have roots in Iran.
While many seem to have their minds made up one way or another about the war, Samandari said he is on the fence.
“I don’t like the regime there, that’s for sure,” he said. “At the same time, when the country’s being attacked, civilians are in jeopardy, I don’t like that either.”
One thing that all the Iranian ex-patriates do share, he said, is a sense of helplessness when it comes to family back in Iran.
To help him cope, Samandari said he has been counting on friends.
“People have texted me, messaged me, and called me in the last few months,” Samandari said. “So that means a lot.”
He said they are his support at a time when family is so far out of reach.
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