Hundreds of foreign citizens fled from Iran to Azerbaijan, Armenia in the midst of increasing conflict

More than 700 foreign citizens had fled from Iran to neighbors Azerbaijan and Armenia when tensions increased after Israeli air strikes in the Islamic Republic, officials in Baku and Yerevan were confirmed on Tuesday.

The development following the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Iran was launched last Friday.

The authorities in Tel Aviv said the attack on Iran was aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons – Tehran’s ambitions were strongly rejected.

Government sources in Azerbaijan revealed that “Since the beginning of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens from 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran through Azerbaijan.”

According to the source, the refugees entered Azerbaijan through the intersection of the Astara border at the Kaspia Sea Coast, about 500 kilometers from Tehran.

From there, they were transported to Baku International Airport to take international flights to their home country.

Among those who were evacuated were citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, United Arab Emirates, China, and Vietnam.

Although Azerbaijan has been keeping the border of the land closed since Pandemi Covid-19 in 2020, the authorities made an exception to facilitate this emergency evacuation.

“Given the evacuation needs, Azerbaijan while opening its borders for those who leave Iran,” said the official.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Armenia, the government helped India in evacuating 110 of its citizens from Iran.

“India also evacuated 110 of its citizens from Iran through Armenia,” Ani Badalyan, a spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

In related development, Poland announced the partial evacuation of its embassy staff in Tehran. Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys told reporters,

“We have decided to evacuate or support the departure of unnecessary staff in the country, called unimportant personnel. Our colleagues will try to reach the border with Azerbaijan.”

Even Turkmenistan, usually one of the most closed countries in the world, opens corridors for refugees. The authorities there confirmed around 120 people, most of the Central Asian citizens, from Iran to the Turkmen region