03.03.2026 22:10
After the United States' attack on Iran, many famous figures and athletes continue to be trapped in the conflict zones, one of whom is Duckens Nazon, who transferred from Kayserispor to Esteghlal. The Haitian player shared his escape story from Tehran after the outbreak of the war.
Duckens Nazon, who wore the Kayserispor jersey last season and transferred to the Iranian team Esteghlal in August after the season ended, recounted his escape story from Iran following the U.S. attack on the country.
'I WAS ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY'
When asked where he was when the airstrikes on Iran began, Nazon said, "I was allowed to leave the country because I was injured, and I didn't have to stay in Iran. However, our coach was sent away, and the new coach wanted to see everyone on that Monday, even though I had a visa appointment for the World Cup in the U.S. So, I bought a plane ticket last Saturday at 10 o'clock. A friend of mine was leaving at 6 in the morning, but I wanted to sleep a little longer. Just then, a friend of mine who plays in Israel messaged me." he said.
"WAR WAS DECLARED"
After these words, when asked, "What did he say to you?" Nazon replied, "He had written the day before, 'Dukan, my hotel is full of police. Shelters are opening, start taking precautions, I don't know when it will happen, but it will explode soon.' I replied, 'Don't worry, I'm leaving at 10 o'clock.' I had already gone inside before the plane took off. Then my friend messaged again and asked, 'Are you on the plane?' I said I was on the plane and asked what was happening. He said, 'God loves you because the sirens just started going off, war was declared. You left at the last moment.'" he expressed.
"WE SAW THE SMOKE OF A BOMB NEXT TO US"
The striker continued to recount his experiences moment by moment, saying, "I was very happy. The plane started to maneuver on the runway and suddenly the captain stopped; 'Everyone leave the plane, the bombing has started.' It was very ruthless. I stayed calm and took my suitcase with Mounir El Haddadi. We returned to Tehran with the club bus to pick up the other players from the hotel. As we approached, people had already started to leave the city in large numbers. It was crazy; I had never seen such a traffic jam in my life. On the road, we saw the smoke of a bomb right next to us." he stated.
"LIKE A PART OF DAILY LIFE"
In response to the question, "Weren't you scared?" the star player said, "To be honest, I have a kind of immunity to this. If it had happened to my family, maybe I would have been scared, but right now... It feels like a part of daily life, even though it shouldn't be." he commented.
'I WAITED 30 TO 32 HOURS AT THE BORDER'
After a while, Nazon, who stated that he had the chance to leave the country, said, "I waited at the border for about 30 to 32 hours. I had no right to return because the Iranians stamped my exit. Essentially, I was nowhere between the two countries for several hours. They left me inside the border crossing, not in the middle of the bridge. Diplomats were passing by, and I was left alone. They told me, 'This decision can be made tomorrow or by the weekend.' That's when you start to think... My manager, family, friends, and sponsors started to pressure me from everywhere: the Haitian Embassy in France, the U.S., the American Embassy in France. We found the contact information of the French Ambassador in Azerbaijan. He contacted the French Embassy in Iran to facilitate my passage. In the end, I didn't even need a code. But when I crossed the border, it was like a war zone. The river, people in uniforms, everything was gray..." he expressed.