Frances is overjoyed to have survived war, a medical emergency and arduous journey through Iran to get home for the school holidays.
"I can't believe it. I'm so glad, I'm so happy," the 70-year-old Sydney woman told the ABC before taking her grandchildren to the pool this week.
"And I don't have that chest pain that I had there all the time [in Iran]. Thank God."
Frances was one of thousands of Australians who had registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) crisis portal after Israel launched strikes on Iran in mid-June.
In the country for the first time in a decade to visit her sisters, Frances took DFAT's advice and made the perilous overland journey to the Iran-Azerbaijan border hoping to cross to safety.
Instead, Azerbaijan officials said she needed a visa and a special code — and knocked her back.
While she waited for days at the border, Frances's heart medications ran out and she was forced to travel further back into Iran to seek medical attention.
Frances, who has worked as a healthcare worker in NSW for 40 years, told the ABC that she had pleaded with DFAT but they were "not really helpful".
"I asked them: 'Please, I need help. This is happening, this is my situation'. A few times I called them," she said.
"When I am sick myself and I can't get my medication ... honestly I can say they didn't care."
Eventually Frances, whose asked the ABC not to use her full name due to ongoing security concerns shared by other Iranian-Australians who spoke for this story, did make it back to the land border crossing.
She was finally able to pass into Azerbaijan and make the journey to the capital, Baku, from where she flew home via Dubai on a flight her daughter had booked from Australia.
Only 57 Australians have left Iran on planes
While Frances made it out of Iran, it is unclear how many Australians and their families remain there more than two weeks after the US brokered a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
Some 3,200 Australians and family members in Iran had registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) crisis portal as of June 26.
Just days after Israel began bombing Iran in mid-June, DFAT evacuated its staff from Tehran to Azerbaijan.
"The government has a responsibility to ensure the safety of our staff," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said at the time.
In an update provided on July 1, DFAT said more than 50 Australians had left Iran via the land border with Azerbaijan and another 150 had received codes to cross the border.
The ABC this week asked DFAT for an update on the crisis portal registration figure and how many Australians had successfully left Iran, with or without DFAT assistance, but the department did not respond.
The ABC understands that the Australian government has managed to secure seats on commercial flights out of Iran, with 57 Australians having departed the country via this arrangement.
Migrants who fled Iran re-traumatised by war
There are more than 85,000 Iranian-born people living in Australia, according to Home Affairs.
Since the war between Iran and Israel began, Iranian-Australian Sherry has been worried for her husband Ali's safety.
Sherry said Ali, an Australian permanent resident, travelled to Iran in April to care for his father who has cancer.
"I'm really concerned about how my husband could get back here to Australia and join us," she said.
Sherry registered Ali with the DFAT crisis portal.
But because of Iran's regime-enforced internet restrictions it has been difficult for Sherry and her husband to communicate, including about DFAT advice.
"Honestly, I can't contact my husband, there is no phone call there, no connection, no internet," she said.
The internet was drastically slowed and, in some cases, blocked entirely by Iranian authorities for days at a time during the war with Israel.
Even after the ceasefire, people in Iran and external monitors have reported the internet being cut off.
For example, on July 6, global internet watchdog NetBlocks reported a nationwide outage that lasted two hours, without any explanation from authorities.
Ali has now secured a flight out of Mashhad airport, in Iran's north-east, at the end of July.
The situation has deeply affected the couples' daughter, who is completing her final year of school in Sydney.
The 17-year-old was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder when the family first moved to Australia about five years ago.
"My main priority was human rights, especially for women," Sherry said, explaining why they migrated.
"Honestly, women are never respected in Iran, from the regime, never, ever."
Doubts ceasefire will hold
US President Donald Trump and Israeli officials have suggested Iran could be targeted again if Tehran resumes efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.
Deakin University professor of Middle East politics Sharam Akbarzadeh said he was not optimistic the ceasefire would hold, given Iran had committed to rebuild its nuclear facilities.
"The Israeli side has a commitment to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities and ultimately bring down the regime in Iran," he said.
Since the war began, the regime has ramped up arrests and executions of those it accuses of posing a threat to the Islamic Republic.
"Post-conflict situations must not be used as an opportunity to suppress dissent and increase repression," a statement from UN experts said earlier this month.
"Iran must not allow history to repeat itself by resorting to the same dark patterns of repression that have devastated its people in previous post-conflict periods."
Several Iranian-Australians who spoke to the ABC said they hoped for a more democratic Iran.
But personal safety remained everyone's priority, Professor Akbarzadeh said.
"When the bombs are falling on Tehran, they have more immediate concerns like their own safety, than to worry about changing the government."
Iranian officials said at the end of June that 935 people were killed in the country during the 12-day war.
Israeli strikes against Iran killed key military figures, including several of the country's highest-ranked military officers, as well as scores of nuclear scientists.
The United Nations has said hundreds of Iranian civilians, including women and children, were also killed.
