Minister guarantees nationals have managed to escape Iran
Portugal has already removed Portuguese nationals from Iran and a repatriation operation is underway in Israel, to respond to 130 repatriation requests registered so far, Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel has said this afternoon, following earlier news that a number of nationals were stranded, with little help from the government.
The “most complex” situation was that of Iran, Rangel stressed: “Yesterday (Sunday), four Portuguese people left by land for Azerbaijan. In the meantime, one had already left via Turkey, and there are three expatriates who are still there, but they have their own means to return,” he told reporters.
“Then, the second most complex issue is obviously that of citizens who are in Israel. We have 130 requests for repatriation – a very significant proportion of which are citizens who were in transit or who are on holiday, or who were working and who were obviously left without planes,” he added.
At a press conference, Rangel stated that “an operation has already begun to bring (these citizens) to Portugal”, admitting “greater risks” because “it involves long journeys by road”.
The minister stressed that security in Jordan – where 37 nationals have complained of being stranded – is not actually an issue, albeit he concedes that the people themselves could be concerned. He said all are being accompanied by representatives of a travel agency, and should be moving to Aqaba, in southern Jordan, to continue on to Egypt and arrive in Portugal on June 18.
Flight tracker website already shows flights appear to have resumed in various countries of the Middle East.
The current conflict between Israel and Iran was triggered in the early hours of Friday (June) 13th by Israeli bombings of Iranian military and nuclear facilities, killing military leaders, scientists and civilians.
The dead included at least 15 senior officers, Tehran has confirmed, including the chief of the General Staff of the armed forces, General Mohamad Hossein Baqari, the commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, and the head of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Iran retaliated with hundreds of missiles against Israel.
The conflict has already left many people dead and hundreds injured on both sides, says Lusa.
What does appear to be coming out of the maelstrom is the distinct possibility of regime change, which hundreds of thousands, if not millions,of Iranians are believed to have been waiting and wishing for for many years.
Source material: LUSA
