Asian nations begin evacuating citizens from the Middle East

Several Asian countries have evacuated their nationals from the Middle East amid the armed conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday, 7 March. More than 260 Chinese nationals have crossed into Azerbaijan through an evacuation plan coordinated by the Chinese embassy in Iran. South Korea has evacuated 65 of its nationals from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, while another 41 left Jordan on commercial flights with assistance from the embassy in Amman. The remainder were evacuated from Kuwait, Bahrain, Israel, and Iraq to neighbouring countries. South Korea also plans to charter a 290-seat aircraft from Etihad Airways to bring home citizens stranded in the United Arab Emirates via Abu Dhabi on Sunday, according to Yonhap News. Citing a statement from the Foreign Ministry, the agency reported around 3,000 South Koreans were stranded in the UAE due to flight disruptions. Separately, Australian nationals in the Middle East have been urged to depart the region using available commercial flights. Tensions have continued to rise since the United States and Israel launched a joint strike on Iran last Saturday, which killed more than 1,000 people, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, more than 150 female students, and senior military officials. Iran has retaliated with intensified attacks targeting US bases, diplomatic facilities, and military personnel across the region, as well as several cities in Israel.