American bike owner who received trapped in Iran talks about his tense escape as Israeli “bombs kept falling”

Popping a champagne bottle on Portugal’s Atlantic coast in February, 32-year-old American Ian Andersen got down to fulfill his dream of biking throughout all seven continents of the world. He deliberate to trip for 10 months, masking roughly 10,000 miles to succeed in his ultimate vacation spot of Japan. 

He didn’t plan, nevertheless, for Israel to launch a battle on Iran. 

As he crossed into Iran on June 1, Andersen was stuffed with pleasure, and anxiousness.

American bike owner Ian Andersen is seen posing for a photograph after clearing customs to enter Iran. 

Ian Andersen

He stated he was “surprised daily” by sort, curious Iranians inviting him for tea or providing him meals, even attempting to pay for his meal at a restaurant.

On June 13, that modified, when Israel began bombing Iran’s nuclear and navy websites. 

“Not any outward hostility, but I just kind of read people’s body language and their facial expressions,” stated Andersen. “And I knew I was in quite a bit of danger, because people were seeing Israel and the U.S. as being quite tied together at that point, as the bombs kept falling and the missiles kept striking.” 

He and his native Iranian information, Reza, determined to hunker down at a guesthouse about 45 miles north of Tehran, in a village referred to as Harijan, for 2 days.

Reza, who Andersen stated had develop into his good friend, suggested him to keep away from telling folks he was American, and to keep away from speaking to folks in any respect if attainable. However he stated he slipped up, revealing his nationality to some native vacationers who joined them on the resort. 

“They weren’t happy about the fact that they were having to share a hotel with ‘that American’ that was there,” stated Andersen. 

He and Reza had been shortly caught up in a gentle move of dense visitors, as residents streamed out of Tehran. They handed fuel stations with lengthy traces of automobiles, and plenty of navy checkpoints.

“It was quite harrowing,” he stated. “The idea of maybe being pulled over at one of the military checkpoints.”

“Reza, my guide, had told me that he can no longer protect me, and that really rattled me, right? Cause, he’s my guide. He’s my Iranian guide, and very stable, sturdy, dependable guy. And he’s like, ‘All right, this is it. Like, you’re in quite a bit of danger here. If we’re stopped and the police suspect you of something, there’s nothing I can do.’” 

Andersen stated he turned “more and more at ease as we got closer,” they usually ultimately made it with out incident to Iran’s border with Azerbaijan.

However probably the most nerve-wracking a part of that ultimate day was about to start, as he was interviewed not as soon as, however twice by Iranian officers — regular border police after which by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

For the second interview, he was pulled out of a crowd and brought into the backroom of a storage closet in a makeshift military barracks. 

“That’s where I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve got a 50-50 chance of being taken either as a bargaining chip or for further questioning,’” he stated. “Actually, the interview was like, less than a minute.” 

“I walked out back into the night to get my bicycle and then actually enter Azerbaijan, and I half expected them to call me back. I was like, ‘Something’s wrong here. Um, why, why was this so easy?’ But they didn’t, and I was able to enter Azerbaijan.”

Away from Iran’s web firewall, he was in a position to message his household within the U.S. earlier than he checked into the primary resort he might discover, after which sleep for 12 hours in aid and exhaustion. 

Now secure because the Israel-Iran battle drags on, Andersen stated he thinks loads in regards to the attainable spillover impact for anybody with a U.S. passport dwelling and touring abroad. 

He stated he registered his journey itinerary with the U.S. State Division’s STEP program, which sends country-specific notifications and updates primarily based on a traveler’s actions. It’s how he knew to go for Azerbaijan, and he urges all People touring overseas to do the identical. 

Andersen additionally stated if it weren’t for his Iranian information, he won’t have made it in another country. He hopes to lift cash for Reza and his household, who’re nonetheless in Iran. 

He additionally intends to hold on along with his bike trip to Japan, to fulfil his dream of biking all the world’s continents. 

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