For geopolitical expert Dr Abdolreza Alami, who has lived here for 17 years, it has been an emotionally exhausting experience. “You can hear a voice but still not know whether that person will be safe an hour later,” he said when contacted yesterday. The senior Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) lecturer said he took pride in how Iranians were standing together to defend their motherland. Regardless of our views, we all carry the same worry for our country and families,” he said. A 34-year-old Iranian postgraduate student, who wished to be known as Fatima, said the silence from home was agonising.

Source: The Star March 20, 2026 02:31 UTC