Britain evacuates embassy staff from Iran as state struggles to evacuate citizens – state
Britain became the newest country on Friday, evacuating its Iranian embassy as foreign governments scrambled to bring its citizens out of the region.
The latest information from Iran's British travel consulting firm says the government has temporarily used diplomats as a “precautionary measure.” It added that the British embassy in Tehran will continue to operate remotely.
“In Iran, the support of the British government is extremely limited,” the notice said.
“In an emergency, without face-to-face consular assistance, the British government will not be able to help you if you have difficulties in Iran.”
Switzerland – providing consular services to Iranian Americans – also said Friday it would temporarily close the embassy due to the “strength of military operations” and instability on the ground.
The government said all Swiss diplomats left Iran safely.
In the event of diplomatic efforts with Iran in seeking to end the conflict, the closure and evacuation of staff was out of work.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who is weighing whether to send U.S. troops to Iran, has been calling on Tehran to completely remove its nuclear program to eliminate the possibility of a regime that has formulated nuclear weapons.
Canada has no diplomatic presence in Iran and is one of dozens of plans that are working to help its citizens evacuate the country despite space closure since last Friday.
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Canada Global Affairs said on Thursday night that nearly 5,000 people in Iran have registered with the government's registration of Canadian services abroad. That number has increased by about 1,500 since Monday.
The department said the number of voluntary registrations in the region, including more than 6,600 in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, has little change since last week, may not accurately reflect the number of Canadians in need of assistance.
Canadian Global Affairs confirmed that there are no reports of injuries or murders of Canadians in conflict.
Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Thursday that the federal government is planning a commercial flight plan to help Canadians in Iran, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza leave the region in order to leave the region from certain neighboring countries.
Canadians are advised to leave Iran through land border crossings to enter Türkiye or Armenia. Through its land border in Astara, it requires a special entry authorization from the Canadian Embassy in Ankara.
“Many Canadians withdraw from Iran through various land borders,” Canada Global Affairs said on Thursday.
Although there are still no flights at Israel's major international airports, Canadians seeking to leave Israel can enter Jordan or Egypt through the border crossing point, as well as maritime routes to Cyprus.
“At present, hundreds of Canadians are leaving Israel and the West Bank alone on various routes,” said Canada Global Affairs.
It has added Canadian staff to Cyprus to help a group of Canadians traveling by boat from Israel in recent days.
Earlier this week, non-essential employees and their families were relocated from Canada’s embassy in Tel Aviv and its consulate in Ramallah.
Canada has deployed other consular officials to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Armenia to provide support to Canadians in the region.
Canadian Global Affairs said on Thursday that the Canadian-led International Crisis Coordination Team was held with “Like-Friendly Partners” to coordinate consular support efforts and discuss evolving security situations.
Several other countries, including China, Japan, Australia, Germany and India, have evacuated hundreds of citizens from and around Iran.
The United States, France, Italy and others plan assisted flight rentals and other evacuation options in the coming days.
At least 657 people were killed in Iran and injured more than 2,000 people in Israeli strikes that began Friday, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group.
According to the Israeli Army estimates, Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones on Israel. Most were shot down by Israel's multi-term defense defense bureau, but at least 24 people were killed and hundreds were injured in Israel.
– Documents with the Associated Press
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