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.



Trump to Attend Ceremony to Witness Return of US Personnel Killed in Syria

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters
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Trump to Attend Ceremony to Witness Return of US Personnel Killed in Syria

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will attend a ceremony on Wednesday to honor US personnel killed in Syria over the weekend by a suspected ISIS attacker.

Trump and his wife will travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to be present for what the Air Force calls the "dignified transfer" of the bodies from overseas back into the United States in the presence of their families. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at 1:15 p.m. EST (1815 GMT), Reuters reported.

Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday in the central Syrian town of Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead, according to the U.S. military.

Trump called the incident terrible, vowed retaliation and referred to the three that were slain as "great patriots."

Three US soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

US presidents, vice presidents and dignitaries regularly attend the solemn transfer ceremonies at Dover during times of war or conflict that result in the deaths of US troops. Flag-draped transfer cases are brought off of a military plane with the bodies of the fallen and put with precision in an awaiting vehicle as officials and family members watch and often weep.


Putin Says Russia will Achieve War Goals, Keep Expanding 'Buffer Zone'

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS
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Putin Says Russia will Achieve War Goals, Keep Expanding 'Buffer Zone'

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would achieve its goals in Ukraine by diplomatic or military means, and would seek to expand a "security buffer zone" there.

"First, the goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved. We would prefer to do this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy," Putin said.

"If the opposing side and their foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive discussions, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means. The task of creating and expanding a security buffer zone will also be consistently addressed."

Of the regions of Ukraine that Russia has claimed as its own territory, it currently controls Crimea, around 90% of the Donbas region and 75% of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, Reuters reported.

In addition, Russia holds some territory in the adjoining regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv. Putin's comments signalled that Moscow would seek further gains on some of these fronts.

With the war at a key juncture as US President Donald Trump pushes hard for a quick peace agreement, Putin said Russia was advancing on all fronts.

But his defense minister, Andrei Belousov, acknowledged that Ukrainian forces were trying to take back control of the northeastern town of Kupiansk - an effort he said was not succeeding.

Ukraine said on Wednesday it had taken 90% of the town, which Russia said it had captured in November.

Putin said people in Europe were being indoctrinated with fears of a war with Russia, and accused their leaders of whipping up hysteria.

"I have repeatedly stated: this is a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense about some imaginary Russian threat to European countries. But this is being done quite deliberately," he said.

Putin has said Russia is not seeking war with Europe, but is ready for war if that is Europe's choice.


Pakistan Says ‘Hostile Countries’ behind False Online Claims Linking it to Australia Shootings

A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
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Pakistan Says ‘Hostile Countries’ behind False Online Claims Linking it to Australia Shootings

A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Pakistan’s information minister said Wednesday that his country has been the victim of a coordinated online disinformation campaign following the mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach.

Attaullah Tarar accused “hostile countries,” including India, of spreading false claims that one of the two attackers was a Pakistani national.

Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, Tara said Pakistan's leadership strongly condemned Sunday's attack, which killed 15 people in an antisemitic shooting targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah, The AP news reported.

The minister said misleading information began circulating almost immediately after the attack, with social media posts falsely identifying one of the suspects as a Pakistani national named Naveed Akram. He said the claims spread rapidly across digital platforms and were repeated by some media outlets without verification.

Tarar said subsequent findings, including confirmation by Indian police, established that one of the attackers, Sajid Akram, was from India, while his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram — who was also involved — was born in Australia.

The minister said the misinformation appeared to stem from a case of mistaken identity, as a Pakistani man living in Sydney shares the same name as one of the two suspects.

“How do we restore the situation to where it was before the Bondi Beach attack?” Tarar asked, adding that the Pakistani man — also named Naveed Akram — had released a video denying any involvement and urging the public not to associate him with the attack.

Tara said the Pakistani man was “a victim of a malicious and organized campaign” and that the disinformation effort originated in India.

There was no immediate response from Indian officials.

Tarar called on media outlets that published the false reports to issue apologies and said Pakistan had not yet decided whether to pursue legal action.

Pakistan and India, nuclear-armed rivals, have a long history of strained relations and have fought three wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, most of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. The two sides came close to war in May before US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire.