Australian govt preparing to evacuate citizens from Iran

Canberra, June 17 The Australian government is preparing to evacuate citizens from Iran, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Pat Conroy, minister for Defence Industry, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Tuesday that the government is making plans for evacuation operations for citizens in Iran who wish to leave amid the conflict in the Middle East.

"The air zones are closed at the moment, so planes can't get in and out, but we're preparing plans to evacuate Australians or assist in them getting onto commercial flights when those zones do open again," he said.

All Australians currently in the region have been advised to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Xinhua news agency reported.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said on Monday that 350 Australian citizens had advised DFAT of their desire to leave Iran and 300 citizens had done so for Israel, with more registrations expected.

Wong said that the government was working on a range of plans to help people leave when safe.

Since early Friday, Israel has launched airstrikes on Tehran and other areas across Iran, killing several top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. In response, Iran has launched a series of missile and drone strikes on different targets in Israel, causing casualties and significant damage.

--IANS

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor