BAKU: More than 700 foreign nationals have crossed from Iran into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel began striking the country last week, government officials in Baku and Yerevan said on Tuesday. The Caucasus countries border Iran’s northwest, with the closest crossing into Azerbaijan around 500 kilometres from Tehran by road.
“Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan,” a government source said on Tuesday.
The evacuees, who crossed the border via the Astara checkpoint on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transported to Baku airport and “flown to their home countries on international flights”, the source said. Among those evacuated are citizens of post-Soviet countries Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam.
“In light of the evacuation need, Azerbaijan has temporarily opened its border for those leaving Iran,” the official said.
India also evacuated 110 of its citizens from Iran through Armenia, Ani Badalyan, Yerevan’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, told journalists. Poland’s foreign ministry said it would evacuate part of its embassy staff in Tehran via Baku. “We have decided to evacuate or support the departure of staff who do not need to remain in the country, so-called non-essential personnel,” Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys told reporters. “Our colleagues will try to reach the border with Azerbaijan,” she said, without specifying how many people were involved. Turkmenistan said it had also allowed the transit of around 120 people evacuated from Iran through its territory, mainly citizens of Central Asian countries. — AFP
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