Spain is preparing “all options“to be able to remove the Spaniards in different countries in the Gulf and the rest of the Middle East that are being attacked with drones and missiles by Iran in retaliation for the bombings initiated by the United States and Israel. Most of flights in the area are being canceled for security reasonsso leaving those countries is being very complicated.
There are about 30,000 compatriots in places that have been targets of Iranian attacks in the area: Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The bulk of this Spanish community in the Gulf countries is concentrated in the United Arab Emirates, with about 13,000.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its embassies in the Middle East are considering all options to be able to evacuate so much for land route as for airway to the largest number of Spaniards who are blocked in the area,” say sources from the Ministry. “These are operations that can involve a large number of citizens; In the Emirates alone there are 13,000 Spaniards right now. The air spaces are mostly closed and by land the distances are very great. From Dubai to Riyadh, as an example, the distance by road exceeds 1,000 km; without there also being a full guarantee that the airspace will be open upon arrival”.
In any case, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that it is “evaluating and considering” all the evacuation options they have. “reasonable guarantees of success of the operation“. Likewise, we are in contact with the airlines to “take advantage of any window of opportunity” for commercial flights to resume and also give the largest possible number of Spaniards the possibility of departure through that route.
Closed air spaces
“Most of the airspaces are closedespecially that of the Emirates. That’s why we can’t think right now about repatriate these citizens by air. It is the same for all countries in the world,” said Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. “The situation is very difficult for all the embassies and citizens in that region, especially for the Embassy in Tehran, where there are about 150 Spaniards, the ambassador and the rest of the foreign service.”
Foreign crisis cabinet for the Iran crisis / .
The minister has warned that this serious situation has “appears to last a long time.”
Last Saturday, the United States and Israel unilaterally and without provocation attacked the Islamic Republic of Iran. The top leader, the Ayatollah, was assassinated There Jameneí. In retaliation, Iran has since launched missiles and drones against the countries in the area where there are US military bases: United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan. It has also reached a British base in Cyprus, a European territory.
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