Indonesia evacuates 97 citizens from Iran, 26 from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Arabah amid tensions

Indonesia has evacuated over 120 citizens from Iran and Israel amid growing regional tensions. Some chose to remain. Evacuations were coordinated via Azerbaijan. Iran's Foreign Minister urged the UN to act against US and Israeli attacks on Iranian facilities and civilians

Jakarta: The Indonesian government has evacuated its 97 citizens from Iran and 26 from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the Arabah area, following tensions in those regions, Foreign Minister Sugiono said on Monday.

“The government has established a crisis response team and will continue the evacuation process while monitoring the condition of Indonesians amid the ongoing conflict,” Sugiono said during a hearing with members of the House of Representatives on Monday.

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The evacuation was carried out via Azerbaijan and involved the Indonesian embassies in Tehran and Amman. According to him, there were 386 Indonesian citizens in Iran. In addition to those who have been evacuated, some chose to stay in the country.

Meanwhile, the number of Indonesian citizens in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the Arabah area was 167 people. “There are those who choose to stay there and have not expressed their willingness to move, but we also continue to monitor the situation,” he said, Xinhua news agency reported.

Last week, a total of 11 Indonesian citizens were evacuated from Iran and returned to Indonesia following escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The ministry explained that this first group arrived on June 25 via a commercial flight from Istanbul after previously being evacuated to Azerbaijani capital, Baku, from Iran, along with 86 other people.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to recognise Israel and the United States as the initiators of the “aggression” against Iran.

In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UNSC President Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Araghchi on Sunday urged the Council to fulfill its responsibility in maintaining international peace and security, according to the official IRNA news agency.

He accused Israel of deliberately targeting residential buildings, civilians, and civilian infrastructure, describing the attacks as a “flagrant breach” of the UN Charter and a “blatant violation” of international law.

Araghchi said Israel and the United States had also targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities — safeguarded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — in “grave violation of the UN Charter, the Non-Proliferation Treaty, as well as the IAEA’s instruments and resolutions.”