Hundreds Flee into Azerbaijan and Armenia from Iran
More than 600 people of 17 nationalities have fled into Azerbaijan from Iran in the five days since the start of the air war between Israel and Iran, an Azerbaijani source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.
Armenian news agency Armenpress reported separately that India has evacuated 110 of its nationals from Iran via Armenia.
The flight from Iran has been prompted by surprise attacks that Israel began last Friday, to which Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks. US President Donald Trump warned residents of Tehran on Monday to evacuate immediately.
From Tehran to the crossing into Azerbaijan is a road journey of about eight hours, while reaching the Armenian border takes over 10 hours.
Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizadeh said more than 1,200 citizens from 51 countries had requested permission to cross from Iran into Azerbaijan.
He declined to say how many had already done so, but the Azerbaijani source put the number at more than 600. The source said they came from Russia, the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, China, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Azerbaijan has kept land borders closed since the COVID-19 pandemic, but it allowed the foreigners to enter via a "humanitarian corridor" crossing at Astara in its southeast corner.
The source said people were being taken by bus to the capital Baku to catch flights to home countries.
'BIG QUEUES'
A man from the United States, who did not give his name, told Azerbaijani state TV: "There are long lines at gas stations and a fuel shortage. Everywhere you go, there are big queues – it's very frightening. I still can't believe I managed to cross the border."
Nazim Beishekeyev, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, said he was one of 28 people from the Central Asian state who entered Azerbaijan after queuing for eight hours at the border. He thanked the authorities for providing food and medical help.
An Azerbaijani news agency, Report, said 26 Chinese nationals had crossed.
The Kremlin thanked Azerbaijan on Tuesday for helping Russian citizens leave Iran.
"Our Azerbaijani friends are providing all the most favorable conditions, for which we are very grateful to them," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Pakistan says no new military cooperation with Iran, direct talks with US amid Israeli strikes
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday Islamabad had not engaged in any new military cooperation with Tehran since Israel launched attacks on Iran last week and had not held specific talks with the United States over the escalating crisis in the Middle East. Iran, which borders Pakistan, has hit back with strikes against Israel after it unleashed waves of attacks on Friday at Iranian nuclear installations, missile stockpiles, scientists, and military generals, among other targets, sparking global alarm that the conflict could erupt into a regional war. The latest escalation follows months of hostilities between Israel and Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, which intensified after the war in Gaza was launched late in 2023. Regional powers fear a direct confrontation could spiral into a broader conflict involving major oil shipping lanes and global energy supplies. 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Asked if Pakistan had held talks with Washington to discuss the fast-evolving situation, the defense minister said there had been no recent contact specifically on the crisis in the past five days: 'But we are in constant touch with the United States of America regarding the tense situation we have in this region.' Asif said Pakistan's leadership was instead focused on engagement with close partners like China and Muslim countries to press for calm, warning that the conflict risked engulfing the entire region. 'The countries who have religious affinity with us or geographical affinity, even China or other countries, because what we are pursuing is peace,' he said. 'And we would like to mobilize the countries of this region that this conflict can multiply and it can engulf the whole region into a situation which could be very, very disastrous.' 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'If we are threatened by Israel, which I will discount at the moment… what happens in the coming months or years I can't predict, but at the moment I discount [a threat from Israel],' he said. He described Israel as a state with 'hegemonic intent' whose recent actions in Gaza and against Iran were 'extremely dangerous to the immediate region,' and said global public opinion was turning against Israeli policies despite support or muted reactions from many Western governments. Asif declined to comment on reports that Pakistan had scrambled fighter jets near its nuclear sites and the Iranian border in response to Israel's initial strikes on Iran but insisted that its nuclear security remained robust. In addition to the Middle East tensions, Pakistan faced a major military standoff with India last month in which the two nations exchanged missile, drone and artillery attacks. Islamabad claimed to have shot down six Indian jets and struck back at military positions, triggering fears of a wider conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals before a ceasefire was announced by the President Donald Trump administration on May 10. When questioned about any direct threat to Pakistan's national security or strategic assets as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, the defense minister said Pakistan's armed forces were already on high alert following the latest confrontation with New Delhi, describing the country's nuclear facilities as 'very militantly guarded, very grudgingly guarded' and fully compliant with international safeguards. 'Since our short war with India [in May], we have been on alert so we have not lowered guards… We can never take the risk of any attack on our nuclear facility from anywhere, that is something which is a lifeline as far as our defense is concerned,' he said Asif said Pakistan's performance in the recent fight with India was evidence of the country's defense capability and national resolve, which would deter Israel from any adventurism. 'We have just had a bout with India and we clearly established our superiority, the superiority of our armed forces, Air Force, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy and the determination of our people, the way the nation stood behind the armed forces,' the defense minister said. 'So I think Netanyahu or his people or his government will think many times before taking on Pakistan.'
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Countries work to evacuate nationals amid Israel-Iran conflict
Countries have begun evacuating their citizens as the Israel-Iran conflict intensifies, prompting both countries to close off their airspace since the clash broke out on Friday. Israel and Iran have both closed their airspace since the conflict broke out when Israel began striking military and nuclear targets in Iran on Friday. Flights carrying evacuees from Israel have arrived in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, authorities said on Tuesday, putting the two countries among the first to bring citizens home to flee the conflict between Iran and Israel. Another Central European country, Poland, said on Tuesday that the evacuation of Poles from Israel was planned for Wednesday and Thursday. Slovak authorities said the first evacuation flight with 73 people, including 25 Slovak tourists and five family members of Slovak diplomats working in Tel Aviv, had arrived in the capital Bratislava late on Monday. Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said Slovakia had also helped bring citizens of other countries to Europe, including 15 Poles, mainly children, 14 Czechs, nine Austrians, two Slovenians and one citizen each of Estonia, Spain and Malaysia. 'Our partners are contacting us and we are preparing another flight on Tuesday, which should include citizens of the Slovak Republic, as well as citizens of the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Latvia, and France,' Blanar said. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Slovakia had helped evacuate seven Hungarians. Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said that a flight with 66 people evacuated from Israel had landed near Prague. Poland said on Monday that it was organizing the evacuation of around 200 of its citizens from Israel via Jordan. On Tuesday, the Polish foreign ministry said it planned to use two planes from Egypt and Jordan for the evacuation, the first of which would take off on Wednesday. 'The plane from Sharm el-Sheikh will take off first, the one from Amman will take off second, most likely on Thursday morning,' said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Henryka Moscicka-Dendys. 'We want to service this connection with a military plane, because we see that there are not as many people willing to evacuate as it might seem.' A government official in Baku said that more than 600 foreign nationals have crossed from Iran into neighboring Azerbaijan since Israel began striking the country. '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. 'Evacuees are transported from the border to Baku International Airport and flown to their home countries on international flights.' The Japanese government said on Tuesday that it is looking into 'various options' to evacuate Japanese nationals from areas affected by ongoing military conflicts between Israel and Iran. Thailand also said that it has ordered its military to prepare planes to evacuate citizens from Israel and Iran, according to a spokesman. There are an estimated 40,000 Thais currently living in Israel, most working on farms under a government labour scheme, and around 300 nationals living in Iran. 'We are ready to evacuate people and have coordinated with the military to prepare planes to bring them home from Israel and Iran,' government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub told reporters after a cabinet meeting. Jirayu said Thai embassies in both countries have prepared evacuation plans for nationals. The Thai embassy in Tehran announced on its official Facebook page that it had set up a temporary shelter for citizens outside the capital. As for China, the country's foreign ministry said embassies and consulates have been offering assistance to those seeking to evacuate since the outbreak of fighting, though it did not offer details on what efforts were being carried out. Chinese authorities, meanwhile, were in communication with Iran, Israel and various parties to promote a ceasefire, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing on Tuesday. 'China calls on all relevant parties, especially those countries that have a special influence on Israel, to shoulder their due responsibilities, take immediate measures to cool down the tense situation and prevent the conflict from escalating and spreading,' Guo said, without naming any countries. Chinese embassies in Israel and Iran have issued multiple advisories in recent days for Chinese citizens to step up safety precautions and closely follow developments. Earlier on Tuesday, the Chinese embassy in Israel urged Chinese citizens to return to China or leave the country via land border crossings as soon as possible, warning that the security situation has worsened. It said many had contacted the embassy asking about the resumption of airport operations and Hainan Airlines flights. But Israeli airspace remained closed, and the Israeli government has extended a national state of emergency until June 30, the embassy explained. The notice listed several land crossing points but recommended Chinese citizens leave via Jordan. 'At present, the Israeli-Iranian conflict continues to escalate, with civilian facilities damaged and civilian casualties increasing, making the security situation even more severe,' the embassy warned in a notice on WeChat. The Chinese embassy in Iran issued a similar evacuation notice on its official WeChat account later on Tuesday. Iran's airspace is still closed, and there are risks that Iran's land border crossings will also be closed in the near future, the embassy said. The notice listed border points for people to enter Turkey, Armenia and Turkmenistan, with travel distances from Tehran ranging from 760 to 910 km (472 to 565 miles).
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel says killed top Iran commander and aide to supreme leader
The Israeli military said Tuesday it killed Iran's top military commander, Ali Shadmani, in an overnight strike, calling him the closest figure to supreme leader Ali Khamenei. In a statement, the military said following 'a sudden opportunity overnight, the (Israeli air force) struck a staffed command center in the heart of Tehran and eliminated Ali Shadmani, the war-time Chief of Staff, the most senior military commander, and the closest figure to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.' The Israeli military said Shadmani had commanded both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian armed forces.
