First small group of Australians escape Iran by plane
The first group of Australians have been able to leave Iran amid threats of further Israeli missile strikes, but thousands more are still awaiting assistance.
Australian citizens are beginning to be flown out of Iran but escape options remain limited amid fears of more Israeli attacks.
Five Australians have left Iran on a commercial flight from Mashhad, in the nation’s north-east, for Dubai with Australian government assistance.
In the week since the fragile truce between Israel and Iran began, airports in Iran’s capital Tehran remain closed.
Limited flights out of eastern Iran are opening up, with the Department of Foreign Affairs contacting hundreds of registered travellers to alert them about seats as they become available.
More than 3000 Australians wanting to leave Iran have registered with the department for assistance and family members in Australia are concerned that options to cross the border into Azerbaijan are unfeasible for vulnerable people.
More than 50 Australians have successfully crossed the border and been met by Australian officials, while more than 150 have received border codes for Azerbaijan.
A backlog of Australian requests for Azerbaijan border crossing codes was cleared after representations by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and consular officials.
The department is advising Australians in Iran to leave now, if it’s safe to do so, noting that although the ceasefire is holding for now, the situation remains volatile and can change quickly.
The department’s ability to provide consular assistance is extremely limited, given the environment in Iran is much more challenging than in Israel.
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Australia’s embassy in Tehran has suspended operations and staff were recently evacuated.
Travellers are urged to keep checking the Smartraveller website for updates.
A ceasefire was reached after 12 days of war, which erupted on June 13 when Israel launched missiles at Iranian military and nuclear sites.
It came a day after the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years.
The assault triggered waves of retaliatory strikes between Iran and Israel, before the US intervened with a strike aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear program and forcing a truce between the two nations.
