Hungary completed another successful evacuation from the Middle East – UPDATED: more citizens saved
Thirteen more Hungarian citizens have been evacuated from Jordan, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Wednesday, noting that the government, together with Slovakia, has helped a total of 26 Hungarians reach safety.
The fighting in the Middle East remains intense and the conflict zone around the war between Iran and Israel continues to widen, Szijjártó said, according to a ministry statement. He said he had reviewed the current situation and the status of the war in a phone call with Gideon Saar, his Israeli counterpart.
“I told him the Hungarian position, namely that our interest lies in the people of the Middle East returning to their calm, safe and peaceful lives,” Szijjártó said. “We want the people of the Middle East — regardless of where they may live, their background and citizenship — to be able to live outside the shadow of the threat of terrorist attacks.”
He said the evacuation of Hungarians still in the area was under way. The joint operation with Slovakia has enabled all Hungarians who have sought evacuation in Jordan to leave the country, he added.
“So the Hungarians are now en route to Transylvania where our consuls are waiting for them at the airport and will assist their return home,” the minister said. “We have one other major evacuation operation under way, which I will be able to report on when it is concluded,” Szijjártó said. “I hope this is now only a matter of hours.”
UPDATE: Six Hungarians evacuated from Iran
After careful planning, Hungary’s government evacuated six Hungarian citizens from Iran on Thursday, the foreign minister said, adding that it has also suspended local operations of the Tehran embassy until the security situation improves.
Péter Szijjártó said that evacuating Hungarians who had asked for help amid escalating fighting in the Middle East was a “complex operation warranting thorough planning. Iran is subject to serious missile and bomb attacks, its airspace is closed … We organised the evacuation yesterday, after serious preparations, by cars towards Azerbaijan.”
“We managed to take six Hungarian citizens to Azerbaijan in the early hours [of Thursday], after a 12-hour wait at the border. They were expected by staff of the embassy in Baku on the other side; by now, they have arrived in Baku and we are organising their transport home,” Szijjártó said.
“Since we have managed to transport all Hungarians requesting help to Azerbaijan, I have instructed all diplomats working at the embassy in Tehran, and their families, to leave the country. The employees and their families, a total of 15 people including children, also crossed into Azerbaijan, and will temporarily complete the tasks of the Tehran embassy from there. I had to make that decision to protect the lives of the employees and their families…” Szijjártó said.
More Middle East news HERE.
Featured image: Illustration. Multi-national helicopter exercise held in Central Hungary. Photo: MTI
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