Ali, (not his real name), had been waiting years to leave Afghanistan and come to Australia.
Seven years ago, he applied for a humanitarian visa after working with the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
He had been granted the long-awaited visa while he was staying in Iran, and was about to fly to Australia last week, when Israel attacked Iran. The country closed its airspace as it responded with a barrage of missiles.
Ali and his young family are now stuck in Iran, hoping the Australian government can help them out of the war zone, as bombings continue.
Ali worked as a labourer with the ADF in the southern Afghanistan province of Uruzgan from 2009 to 2011, before working as an interpreter with the Army in Tarin Kowt in 2012 and 2013.
In March 2025, he travelled to Iran and was granted a Special Humanitarian Visa (Subclass 201) in mid-May.
He told SBS Pashto that when he and his family members received the visas, everyone was overjoyed.
"When my wife and I, along with our two children, came to Iran from Afghanistan, we felt safe. Unfortunately, a war also started here in Iran and we are very worried," he said.
Ali said he and his wife are very worried about their two children.
"We are all very frightened as the war is spreading this way. We hear the sounds of gunfire and explosions."
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said around 350 people in Iran had registered for assistance with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and 300 in Israel, as Australia weighs up evacuation options when it becomes safe to do so.
Airspaces have been closed in Israel and Iran, as well as neighbouring Iraq.
Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport has been closed until further notice.
Wong acknowledged that for "families of people who are in the region, this is a distressing time".
"The people here at the crisis centre are working on a range of plans, including a plan for assistive departures when air space is open and when it is safe to do so."
Ali says he believes the lives of his family would be at risk if they returned to Afghanistan.
"Our hope and wish from the Australian government is that as soon as possible, they arrange a flight for us and transfer us from Iran to Australia, we would be very happy," he said.
"If we were to go back to Afghanistan now, our lives would be 100 per cent at risk and we cannot return to Afghanistan."
— With reporting from SBS Pashto.
