BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 4. The exodus of foreign and Azerbaijani citizens from Iran is in full swing as the crisis heats up, TurkicWorld reports.
From 08:00 (GMT+4) on February 28 through 10:00 (GMT+4) on March 4, a total of 1,161 people from various countries were safely evacuated to Azerbaijan.
The evacuated persons include 361 Chinese, 246 Russian, 224 Azerbaijani, 76 Pakistani, 46 Omani, 18 Saudi Arabian, nine Georgian, six UAE, six Slovak, five Serbian, four Iranian, four Jordanian, four Swiss, four Nigerian, and four Japanese citizens.
The list also includes three citizens of Qatar, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Mexico and the Philippines, two citizens of Nepal, Kazakhstan, France, Türkiye, Yemen, Kyrgyzstan and Italy. One evacuated person each was from Poland, Tunisia, Lebanon, India, Brazil, UK, Myanmar, Maldives and South Africa.
Following the 2nd round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S. increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East.
The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically. However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive.
In a significant escalation, military airstrikes conducted by Israel and the United States the previous day have reportedly resulted in the deaths of Iran’s Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several members of his family.
Additionally, several of Iran’s most senior military and security officials were killed in the airstrikes, including Chief of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Supreme Leader adviser and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.
