The number of Azerbaijani citizens evacuated from Iran has exceeded 300.
Since the start of hostilities in Iran, 1,873 people, including 309 Azerbaijani citizens, have been evacuated across the Azerbaijani border.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," from February 28 to March 7, more than 1,790 citizens of 66 countries were evacuated from Iran through the Azerbaijani border. Among them were 297 Azerbaijani citizens, 282 Russian citizens, and 13 Georgian citizens.
Due to hostilities in Iran, bus routes between Baku and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through that country have been suspended. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry recommended that citizens refrain from visitingIran and Israel.
By 10:00 [09:00 Moscow time] on March 8, 1,873 people, including 309 Azerbaijani citizens, were evacuated from Iran to Azerbaijan, APA reports.
According to authorities, among those evacuated, 529 were citizens of China, 282 were citizens of Russia, 173 were citizens of Tajikistan, 123 were citizens of Pakistan, 57 were citizens of Oman, 44 were citizens of Italy, 32 were citizens of Indonesia, 26 were citizens of Spain, 18 were citizens of Saudi Arabia, 25 were citizens of Iran, 17 were citizens of Japan, 16 were citizens of France, 14 were citizens of Germany, 13 were citizens of Georgia, 12 were citizens of Uzbekistan, 10 citizens of Bulgaria, Congo and Nigeria, 10 citizens of Brazil, 8 were citizens of the United Kingdom and 7 citizens Belarus, Trend reports today.
Citizens of the UAE, Slovakia, Canada, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Afghanistan, Austria, the Czech Republic, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Turkey, Hungary, Belgium, Kuwait, Qatar, Mexico, the Philippines, Finland, Romania, Croatia, Nepal, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Yemen, Sudan, India, Cyprus, Poland, Australia, Tunisia, Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia, Egypt, Myanmar, the Maldives, Cuba, South Africa, Sweden, and the Vatican have also been evacuated, the agency reports.
As a reminder, on February 28, Israel and the United States began strikes on Iran. Donald Trump announced the start of a large-scale military operation. In response, Iran launched attacks on Israel, American military facilities, and civilian targets in the Middle East, according to the Caucasian Knot report "Key Issues on the Impact of the Military Conflict with Iran on the Caucasus."
Baku has declared its refusal to allow strikes on Iran, and President Ilham Aliyev has expressed its willingness to help reduce tensions. Analysts considered Azerbaijan's position pragmatic.
On March 5, a drone attack on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic injured four people. Ilham Aliyev called the attack a "deliberate terrorist attack by Iran," and the Azerbaijani army was put on alert.
The drone attack was likely intentional, but Azerbaijan will initially limit itself to diplomatic and political measures, avoiding direct military escalation, analysts in Baku suggested. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister stated that the Islamic Republic did not strike Azerbaijan.
Caucasian Knot has compiled materials on the impact of military action in Iran on the Caucasus on the thematic page "Iran: War Is Near".