Rozita Hassaniserkani is worried her father in Iran will forget her before she can see him again.
It was several days after Israel’s initial strikes on Iran before she could make contact with her family in Tehran.
“I didn’t have anything from them and it was so stressful,” she told AAP.
“They are OK but there are so many people, so many innocent people, killed in the last few days and it’s really sad.
“When you know your loved one or your country is in danger … and you can’t do anything, I think it’s the worst feeling anyone can experience.”
Ms Hassaniserkani – who came to Australia in 2012 – planned to visit Iran in July to see her father, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
“He might forget me if I don’t see him soon,” she said.
“I was crying like a child and saying ,’Why (should) these kind of things happen in this world, when everybody can live in peace?'”
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 639 people and wounded 1329 others, the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists says.
Israel says at least 24 civilians have been killed by retaliatory strikes.
Australians in Iran have been advised to shelter in place if they can’t leave safely, while the government has already evacuated some citizens from Israel via Jordan.
Iranian refugee Nazanin Jebeli said the past week had been difficult.
“I’m worried for my people, but at the same time, Iranian women, they’re looking for peace, and that’s what matters,” she told AAP.
“Iranian people, no matter what, history has always showed that they had each other’s back in difficult times and we support each other.”
US President Donald Trump has demanded that Iran unconditionally surrender, saying he knew where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was hiding.
Iran has warned of “all-out war” if the US joins the fray.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged Iran to resume negotiations to discontinue any nuclear program following Israel’s attempts to wipe out the Islamic republic’s missile capabilities, claiming it was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons.
Ms Hassaniserkani and Ms Jebeli are among the group of people featured in Archibald Packing Room Prize-winning artist Kathrin Longhurst’s exhibition Collective Threads: A Public Presence, which opened at Sydney’s Cato Gallery on Thursday.
Ms Longhurst – born in East Germany during the Cold War – related to living in an oppressive regime and said working with the Iranian women had proved inspiring and empowering.
The project stemmed from protests in 2022 over the death of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, but has taken on additional significance in recent days.
“I know there’s a lot of anxiety in the Iranian community but this whole body of work has been about people supporting each other, women supporting women,” Ms Longhurst said.
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