Shortly after the players of Tractor, based in Tabriz in northwestern Iran, gathered for breakfast on Saturday, they began a five-hour drive to Turkey to leave Iran. At that time, explosions were heard nearby.
"There is a military base six to ten kilometers away and it was no small blast. When that blast came, we had to pack our bags as quickly as possible and get in the car," Johansson tells the newspaper.
Shortly after 7 a.m. on Saturday, local time in Sweden, the first reports of explosions came in the capital, Tehran, which is located just over 620 kilometers from Tabriz.
Johansson has been back home in Sweden since Sunday and has reunited with his wife and the couple's daughter.
"It was a relief. I think the family was more worried about me than I was. When you're in that situation you don't have time to think much," says Marko Johansson, who has played Allsvenskan football for Trelleborg, Mjällby, Malmö FF and Halmstad.
Iran's top league has now been suspended. Johansson signed for one season with Tractor in September 2025.
