More than 10,000 Portuguese live in countries that are being affected by the large-scale attacks launched yesterday on Iran by the United States and Israel.
Tehran has vowed ‘revenge’ for the military strikes that have already taken out key members of the regime – and missiles have started falling in countries that Iran sees as having been ‘allies’ of its attackers (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Oman) and in which hundreds of Portuguese live and work.
Reports today concede that there are ‘less than a dozen of Portuguese’ living in Iran; but in places like Saudi Arabia there are 1,200 – including ‘sporting names and celebrities’ (like footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and João Félix, and trainers Jorge Jesus and Sérgio Conceição). According to Agence France-Presse explosions have already been heard in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
In Qatar where (up until now) Iranian incoming missiles have been intercepted, there are 1,100 Portuguese living and working – and in the United Arab Emirates (which has also managed to intercept incoming missiles) there are around 6,000 national citizens.
In Abu Dhabi, a Portuguese who has asked not to be identified has told tabloid Correio da Manhã that she lives close to the airport (where there have been a number of attacks) and the intensity of explosions has ‘shaken’ her apartment building.
Like many others, this anonymous Portuguese in Abu Dhabi is hoping for a Portuguese repatriation flight – but with air space over the Middle East currently closed, this is not possible.
In Portugal, prime minister Luís Montenegro has called for “maximum restraint”, condemning what he refers to as the “unjustifiable” Iranian attacks on neighbouring countries.
“Portugal calls on everyone to exercise maximum restraint to avoid escalation, preserve international peace and security, and ensure regional stability, in line with the Charter of the United Nations. To this end, it will be necessary for Iran’s nuclear program, which has long been a concern of the international community, to cease,” Montenegro appealed in a post on the social network X yesterday.
The PM insisted “on the need for Iran to respect the human rights of its people, which have been violated in an unacceptable way” and condemned “Iran’s unjustifiable attacks on neighbouring countries in the region – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan – which must cease immediately.”
Montenegro said he has been following “with great concern, from the very beginning, developments in the Middle East”, in close coordination with European partners, regional partners and NATO allies.
Israel and the US launched their massive attack yesterday morning, ostensibly to “eliminate the imminent threats from the Iranian regime” – but it has since become clear that there is also the intention of regime change, albeit there appears to be no roadmap on how this can be achieved.
Source material: LUSA
