No fewer than 600 foreign nationals have crossed from Iran into neighbouring Azerbaijan since Israel began striking the country last Friday, a government official in Baku said.
“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,” the government source told AFP on Tuesday.
The refugees, who crossed the border at the Astara crossing on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transferred to Baku airport and then “flown to their home countries on international flights,” according to the source.
Those evacuated include citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, China, and Vietnam.
Azerbaijan closed its land borders in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has kept them closed ever since.
“In light of the evacuation need, Azerbaijan has temporarily opened its border for those leaving Iran,” the official said.
Poland’s foreign ministry stated that 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, one of the world’s most closed-off countries, said it had also permitted approximately 120 persons evacuated from Iran to pass via its territory; most of them were Central Asian citizens.
Israel has begun unprecedented strikes on Iran since Friday, claiming the purpose is to prevent Tehran from gaining a nuclear weapon, which Iran rejects.
According to an official toll issued Sunday, Israel’s attacks have killed at least 224 people and injured over 1,000 others.
In reprisal, Iran has launched several assaults in Israel, killing at least 24 people, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
