Countries around the world are rushing to evacuate their citizens from Israel and Iran as the regional conflict, now in its seventh day, continues to escalate, and commercial airspace remains closed. Triggered by Israeli airstrikes on June 13 targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, the confrontation has killed hundreds, including top Iranian military officials and civilians on both sides. Iran has launched retaliatory missile attacks, some of which have struck civilian areas in Israel.
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The European Union, United States, and numerous Asian, Middle Eastern, and African nations have initiated large-scale evacuations using military and chartered flights, land convoys, and, in some cases, cruise ships.
Removing citizens from Middle East
Portugal evacuated 69 people, including 48 of its nationals, on a repatriation flight from Israel and has temporarily closed its embassy in Tehran. Serbia organized special Air Serbia flights, with over 100 citizens departing from Egypt, and others expected to leave Israel and Iran in the coming days. Romanian military transport planes evacuated more than 100 people to Bucharest, and Poland completed evacuations from both countries with flights arriving in Warsaw.
Australia facilitated overland evacuations from Israel and reported that nearly 2,700 of its citizens across Israel and Iran have sought help. China has removed more than 1,600 citizens from Iran and hundreds more from Israel. India launched “Operation Sindhu,” moving Indian students from Iran to Armenia. France, Italy, and Greece are coordinating departures via Jordan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. Japan deployed Self-Defense Forces aircraft to Djibouti to prepare for regional evacuations, while New Zealand closed its Tehran embassy and evacuated staff by land.
The US, meanwhile, is arranging flights and a cruise ship departure for Americans in Israel. US Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on X that “arrangements are ongoing” for citizens seeking to leave. France and Bulgaria are supporting overland evacuations to bordering countries, while South Korea has evacuated 20 people by land from Iran. Nigeria and Croatia are also in the process of organizing their own departures.
Bahrain and Egypt are coordinating with multiple governments on evacuation logistics, as thousands remain stranded across the region. Norway has advised its citizens to avoid travel to Iran but has not yet begun evacuations.
With airspace closures complicating logistics, many governments are relying on land corridors and regional allies to move citizens toward safer zones for airlift.