More than 4,000 Spaniards have already been evacuated from the Middle East, including members of the Embassy in Tehran

Eduardo González More than 4,000 Spaniards have been repatriated from the Middle East since the armed conflict began in the region, according to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, the members of the Spanish Embassy in Iran, including the ambassador, Antonio Sánchez-Benedito, have already been successfully evacuated. Foreign Ministry sources confirmed Friday night the arrival at Torrejón Air Base of a military flight from Muscat, Oman, carrying passengers from the United Arab Emirates (229 Spaniards and 11 foreigners). In addition, the Ministry has facilitated other departures by road from Israel (37 people), Kuwait (35 Spaniards and 13 foreigners), Palestine (nine people), and Bahrain (two people). Furthermore, the arrival of another 658 Spanish citizens from the United Arab Emirates is expected soon on three commercial flights to Madrid and Barcelona. For his part, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares reported on Saturday that the first commercial flights from Qatar have departed for Spain since the start of the war in the Middle East. “My gratitude to the staff of our Embassies in the Middle East and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their work protecting Spaniards,” he wrote. The Minister also reported this Saturday, via social media, that all members of the Spanish Embassy in Iran have been successfully evacuated. Both the Ambassador and the essential staff who remained in Tehran have crossed the border into Azerbaijan and are safe. The rest of our embassies in the region and the Ministry's crisis room remain fully operational 24 hours a day through emergency phone lines, he added. According to Ministry sources, and confirmed by Albares, more than 4,000 Spaniards have already been repatriated since the outbreak of the regional conflict, which began with the US-Israeli offensive on February 28 against Iran. This offensive included the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and escalated with retaliatory attacks by the Islamic Republic against nearly fifteen countries in the region. “The goal remains to repatriate every last Spanish citizen who wishes to return,” the same sources added.

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