INDONESIA EXPRESSES READINESS TO EVACUATE CITIZENS FROM MIDDLE EAST, 15 IN IRAN FIRST

JAKARTA, March 4 (Bernama) -- Indonesia has expressed its readiness to evacuate its citizens from conflict-affected areas in the Middle East, beginning with 15 Indonesians in Tehran who have formally requested to leave Iran amid escalating regional tensions.

Foreign Minister Sugiono said the evacuation of the 15 Indonesians in Tehran is being arranged via Baku, Azerbaijan, as airspace in the area is currently closed.

“It is being arranged when the evacuation will be carried out, as the airspace is currently closed. If the evacuation is from Tehran, they must first be taken to Baku, which is a ten-hour journey,” he said, according to ANTARA News Agency on Wednesday. 

Sugiono said the Foreign Ministry is working closely with the Indonesian Embassy in Tehran, and Indonesia’s Ambassador to Iran, Rolliansyah Soemirat, has been instructed to take necessary steps.

“Amid the escalating situation, earlier this afternoon, I also instructed our Ambassador in Tehran to take immediate evacuation steps if there are Indonesian citizens who wish to be evacuated,” he said.

Sugiono stressed that Jakarta stands ready to evacuate any Indonesian citizen in the region who seeks relocation.

While the current evacuation process centres on Iran, he noted that Indonesians in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, have not requested evacuation assistance so far.

“Those who ask for evacuation, we evacuate. It is not possible to move people who do not want to be moved.” 

“The GCC alone has 27,000 people; if they ask to be evacuated, we will evacuate them. In Qatar, in the UAE, in Bahrain, no one has requested evacuation yet. These 15 (Indonesians) have already expressed their willingness,” he said.

-- BERNAMA