Eritrea Condemns New US Sanctions

A burned tank stands near the town of Adwa, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 18, 2021. (Reuters)
A burned tank stands near the town of Adwa, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 18, 2021. (Reuters)
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Eritrea Condemns New US Sanctions

A burned tank stands near the town of Adwa, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 18, 2021. (Reuters)
A burned tank stands near the town of Adwa, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 18, 2021. (Reuters)

Eritrea on Saturday condemned the sanctions imposed on its military and other Eritrea-based individuals and entities by the United States a day earlier, calling them a continuation of Washington's "misguided and hostile policy".

The information ministry said in a statement the primary aim of the "illicit and immoral sanctions" was to inflict suffering and starvation on the Eritrean people so as to spur political unrest in the Horn of Africa country.

Washington announced the sanctions on Friday, targeting Eritrea for its role in the year-long war in northern Ethiopia. Washington said it was prepared to take action against other parties to the conflict.

The US Treasury Department blacklisted Eritrea's military, its ruling political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ); the party's economic adviser; and the head of the Eritrean national security office, accusing them of contributing to the conflict in neighboring Ethiopia.

War broke out in November 2020 between Ethiopian federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party of Tigray. Thousands have been killed in the conflict, which has since spread into two neighboring regions in northern Ethiopia.

Early in the war, the Eritrean military sent in tanks and troops to aid its Ethiopian ally, Prime Minister Abiy. Eritrea has also used the conflict to settle old scores in Tigray, Reuters reported this month.



Countries Evacuating Citizens from Iran and Israel 

Expats, including diplomats from different nationalities, who were stranded in West Bank and Israel, wait as they hold belongings while being evacuated through the King Hussein Bridge crossing, in South Shuna, Jordan June 19, 2025. (Reuters)
Expats, including diplomats from different nationalities, who were stranded in West Bank and Israel, wait as they hold belongings while being evacuated through the King Hussein Bridge crossing, in South Shuna, Jordan June 19, 2025. (Reuters)
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Countries Evacuating Citizens from Iran and Israel 

Expats, including diplomats from different nationalities, who were stranded in West Bank and Israel, wait as they hold belongings while being evacuated through the King Hussein Bridge crossing, in South Shuna, Jordan June 19, 2025. (Reuters)
Expats, including diplomats from different nationalities, who were stranded in West Bank and Israel, wait as they hold belongings while being evacuated through the King Hussein Bridge crossing, in South Shuna, Jordan June 19, 2025. (Reuters)

Countries around the world are taking measures to evacuate their citizens from Israel and Iran as the two nations enter the seventh day of their air war and airspace in the region remains closed.

A week of Israeli air and missile strikes against its major rival has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command, damaged its nuclear capabilities and killed hundreds of people, while Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel.

Here are some of the countries whose citizens have left:

AUSTRALIA The Australian government evacuated by land a small group of the 1,200 Australians seeking to leave Israel on Wednesday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday. Around 2,000 Australians in Iran have registered for assistance.

AUSTRIA 48 Austrians have left Israel or neighboring Jordan, out of the 200 who reported to the Tel Aviv embassy, the Foreign Ministry said. Around 100 Austrians have requested to leave Iran. 44 Austrian and EU citizens have been evacuated towards Türkiye and Armenia, it added.

BULGARIA Bulgaria has evacuated 17 diplomats and their families from Iran to Azerbaijan and will repatriate them by land and air, the Bulgarian government said. An administration at the Bulgarian embassy in Tehran is moving temporarily to Baku.

CHINA China has evacuated more than 1,600 citizens from Iran and hundreds more from Israel, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday. Several thousand Chinese nationals are thought to reside in Iran, according to state media reports.

CZECH REPUBLIC A flight with 66 people evacuated from Israel had landed near Prague, Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said.

FRANCE France will arrange a convoy by the end of the week from Iran to the Turkish or Armenian borders, French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Thursday. French citizens in Israel can board buses starting Friday morning from the Jordanian border, with a flight chartered from Amman, Barrot said.

GERMANY 345 German citizens have left the Middle East region, the foreign ministry said, after the country provided charter flights to Germany.

GREECE Greece has evacuated 16 nationals and their families by land from Iran to Azerbaijan and is now working on their repatriation to Greece, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

INDIA India said on Wednesday it has launched "Operation Sindhu" to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran. 110 Indian students have been evacuated from northern Iran into Armenia on June 17, India's foreign ministry said.

ITALY Italy is organizing a charter flight from Egypt on June 22 to allow its citizens to leave Israel if they want to. 29 of the about 500 Italian nationals leaving in Iran already left the country on Wednesday with assistance from the government, a diplomatic source said.

JAPAN Japan's government said on Thursday it would send two Self-Defense Forces transport aircraft to Djibouti in preparation for the evacuation of Japanese nationals from Iran and Israel.

NEW ZEALAND New Zealand temporarily closed its Tehran embassy and evacuated two staff and their families by land to Azerbaijan.

POLAND A group of Polish citizens evacuated from Iran landed in Warsaw on Thursday morning, ending the evacuation from the country, the Foreign Ministry said. The first plane evacuated from Israel landed in Warsaw on Wednesday morning and a second one was expected on Thursday afternoon from Amman, with 65 people on board.

PORTUGAL Portugal has temporarily shut its embassy in Iran and evacuated four of its citizens via Azerbaijan. It has received 130 repatriation requests from citizens in Israel and is organizing a repatriation flight, expected to land in Portugal later on Thursday, the foreign ministry said.

SERBIA A group of 100 Serbs have fled Israel via Egypt, ambassador Miroljub Petrovic said on Thursday.

SIERRA LEONE 36 citizens were evacuated to Armenia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

SLOVAKIA The first evacuation flight with 73 people, 25 tourists and five family members of Slovak diplomats working in Tel Aviv arrived in Bratislava on Monday, Slovak authorities said. The foreign ministry said on Friday it would temporarily close its embassy in Tehran and was fully evacuating staff from the country.

SOUTH KOREA Eighteen South Korean nationals and two of their family members who are Iranian nationals were evacuated by land from Iran, South Korea's foreign ministry said.

TAIWAN 36 Taiwanese have been evacuated from Israel via the land crossing with Jordan, while three Taiwanese have left Iran via the land border with Türkiye, Taiwan's foreign ministry said.

UNITED STATES The United States is working to evacuate US citizens wishing to leave Israel by arranging flights and cruise ship departures, US ambassador Mike Huckabee said in a post on X on Wednesday.

VIETNAM Vietnam's foreign ministry told its citizens in Israel and Iran to get ready for evacuation and 18 Vietnamese citizens have already been evacuated from Iran.