The United Kingdom on Friday became the latest country to withdraw staff from its embassy in Iran amid a week-long conflict with Israel, as foreign governments scrambled to get their citizens out of the region.
An updated U.K. travel advisory for Iran said the government had temporarily pulled diplomatic staff as a “precautionary measure.” It added the British embassy in Tehran will continue to operate remotely.
“U.K. government support is extremely limited in Iran,” the notice said.
“No face-to-face consular assistance will be possible in an emergency and the U.K. government will not be able to help you if you get into difficulty in Iran.”
Switzerland — which provides consular services to Americans in Iran on behalf of the U.S. — also said Friday it was temporarily closing its embassy due to the “intensity of military operations” and the unstable situation on the ground.
All Swiss diplomatic staff have safely left Iran, the government said.
The closures and evacuations of staff came amid renewed diplomatic efforts with Iran to seek an end to the conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who is currently weighing whether to send American military forces into Iran, has been leading calls for Tehran to dismantle its nuclear program entirely to eliminate the possibility of the regime developing a nuclear weapon.
Canada, which does not have a diplomatic presence in Iran, is among dozens of countries working on plans to help its citizens evacuate the country despite airspace being closed since last Friday.
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Global Affairs Canada said Thursday evening that almost 5,000 people in Iran are registered with the government’s Registration of Canadians Abroad Service. That number has gone up by about 1,500 since Monday.
The department says the number of voluntary registrants in the region — including more than 6,600 in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, a number that has barely changed since last week — may not accurately reflect the number of Canadians that require assistance.
There have been no reports of Canadians injured or killed due to the conflict, Global Affairs Canada confirmed.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Thursday that the federal government was planning commercial flight options to help Canadians in Iran, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza to leave the region from certain neighbouring countries.
Canadians are being advised to leave Iran through land border crossings into Turkey or Armenia. Access into Azerbaijan through its land border crossing at Astara requires special entry authorization from the Canadian embassy in Ankara.
“Many Canadians have exited Iran via various land borders,” Global Affairs Canada said Thursday, without providing exact numbers.
Although Israel’s main international airport remains closed to flights, Canadians seeking to leave Israel can do so through border crossings into Jordan or Egypt, as well as by maritime routes to Cyprus.
“Hundreds of Canadians are currently leaving Israel and the West Bank on their own through various routes,” Global Affairs Canada said.
It added Canadian staff were on hand in Cyprus to help a group of Canadians who travelled by ship from Israel in recent days.
Non-essential staff and their families were relocated from Canada’s embassy in Tel Aviv and its consular office in Ramallah earlier this week.
Canada has deployed additional consular officers to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia to provide support to Canadians in the region.
Global Affairs Canada said Thursday that a Canada-led international crisis co-ordination group call with “like-minded partners” was held Wednesday to co-ordinate consular support efforts and discuss the evolving security situation.
Several other countries, including China, Japan, Australia, Germany and India, have evacuated hundreds of its citizens from Iran and the surrounding region.
The U.S., France, Italy and others are planning assisted charter flights and other evacuation options in the coming days.
At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded by Israeli strikes that began Friday, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group.
Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel’s multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded.
—With files from the Associated Press
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