Azerbaijan helps to evacuate over 600 people from Iran PHOTO

More than 600 citizens from 17 countries have been successfully evacuated from Iran through Azerbaijan, using a humanitarian corridor that has been in operation for the past five days.

The evacuees, including Azerbaijani nationals, were transported through the Astara border checkpoint in a coordinated effort involving multiple nations, Caliber.Az reports via local media. 

The humanitarian corridor was established to provide safe passage amid regional challenges affecting civilian mobility. Among those repatriated are citizens of several Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

In addition, the evacuation effort extended to nationals of several European countries — Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, and Portugal — following formal requests submitted to the Azerbaijani authorities. Citizens from non-European nations such as the United States, the United Arab Emirates, China, and Vietnam were also among those safely returned to their home countries. 

Israel launched a surprise strike on Iran on June 13, sparking the most intense confrontation between the two nations to date and raising fears of a broader Middle Eastern conflict. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli cities including Tel Aviv and Haifa. Israel asserts its strikes targeted military and nuclear sites, eliminating several senior commanders and scientists.  Pezeshkian responded, “Does the scientist of this country have a gun in his hand and a bomb? If we did not have these missiles now, Israel would easily hit wherever it wanted every day.”

According to a senior US official, President Donald Trump urged Israel to halt plans to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted that regime change in Iran could be a potential outcome of their military actions. 

Calling for national unity, Pezeshkian urged Iranians to put aside their differences amid the crisis: “Every difference, issue, and problem that has existed must be put aside today and we must stand strong against this genocidal criminal aggression with unity and coherence.” Iranian officials have emphasized diplomatic efforts despite Israel’s preference for military measures and US threats of consequences if nuclear talks fail. They also stressed that any Israeli attack would not occur without US knowledge and support.

By Naila Huseynova