Foreign Ministry confirms it has already evacuated 7,000 Spaniards from the Middle East

The Diplomat The government has repatriated 7,000 Spanish citizens from the Middle East since the regional armed conflict erupted on February 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a press release on Thursday, March 12. To date, nine land evacuation operations have been carried out: two from Iran to Baku (March 4 and 7, the day the Embassy in Tehran closed); one from Jerusalem to Jordan (March 6); one from Tel Aviv to Cairo (March 6); two from Bahrain to Riyadh (March 6 and 7); and three from Kuwait to Riyadh (March 6, 7, and 9). In addition, there have been three air evacuation operations using Ministry of Defense aircraft to Muscat, the capital of Oman (March 4, 6, and 9). In addition, a fourth plane is scheduled to fly to Riyadh to allow Spanish residents in Qatar to leave when circumstances require it. Efforts have also been made with all affected airlines to rebook Spanish passengers on all operating commercial flights, especially those to Qatar. Currently, the airspace of numerous countries in the region remains closed or partially open for limited repatriation operations. Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reinforced the diplomatic teams at the most affected embassies since March 2nd. The embassy in the United Arab Emirates, home to the largest Spanish community in the Middle East, has been reinforced with two diplomats; the embassy in Oman with three diplomats to assist with the land exit from the Emirates and the arrival point for Defense flights; and the embassy in Saudi Arabia with four diplomats to manage the land exit to Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. Work is also underway to send additional diplomatic personnel to the Honorary Consulate of Spain in Sri Lanka. Since the start of the conflict, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has updated its travel recommendations for Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Syria, and Iraq. These recommendations are continuously reviewed and updated in accordance with the evolving conflict and the situation on the ground. Constant updates are also provided on social media, offering useful information for citizens such as self-protection measures, instructions from local authorities, 24/7 emergency phone numbers for embassies, additional lines also operating 24/7 for the same purpose, information on airspace, airports, and border crossings, and details of ground operations organized by embassies. According to the press release, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, is leading “the largest evacuation operation in our history organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” As of today, 14 days after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran and the Iranian regime's response against numerous neighboring countries in the Middle East, 7,000 Spanish citizens have been repatriated, and "to date, there have been no Spanish casualties." "All evacuation operations for our compatriots remain open through all possible routes, except for the one from Iran, which concluded successfully last Saturday," the minister stated. When the conflict erupted on February 28, there were more than 31,000 Spanish citizens in the Middle East, primarily in the United Arab Emirates, home to the largest Spanish community.

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