Indonesia Evacuates 100 Citizens From Iran And Israel Amid Regional Tensions
By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar
JAKARTA, June 21 (Bernama) -- Indonesia has evacuated 100 of its citizens from Iran and Israel amid rising tensions in the region, Foreign Minister Sugiono, who goes by a single name, said on Saturday.
Of those evacuated, 96 individuals — including 93 Indonesian citizens, three embassy staff, and one Iranian national married to an Indonesian — crossed the Iran–Azerbaijan border and arrived safely in Baku.
bootstrap slideshow
'They are now resting in Baku after a 16-hour journey. The journey went relatively safely and smoothly, although the border was more crowded than usual,' he said in a video statement released by the ministry from Istanbul.
The remaining four Indonesians were evacuated in a separate operation from Israel via Jordan and are reported to be in good condition.
Sugiono said the ministry remained in close contact with its nationals in the region and that the first phase of the evacuation had proceeded smoothly.
According to the foreign ministry, 386 Indonesian citizens are residing in Iran and 192 in Israel.
Sugiono is attending the 51st session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Foreign Ministers' Conference in Istanbul from June 21 to 22, where the situation in Iran and Gaza is expected to feature in discussions.
He called for calm and urged all parties to show wisdom and engage in dialogue to seek a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
5 minutes ago
- The Sun
Syria, Israel agree to continue talks after Paris meeting
SYRIAN and Israeli officials agreed to meet again after no final accord was reached in U.S.-mediated talks in Paris on de-escalating the conflict in southern Syria, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Saturday, citing a diplomatic source. The source described the dialogue as 'honest and responsible', in the first confirmation from the Syrian side that talks had taken place. On Friday, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said officials from both countries spoke about de-escalating the situation in Syria during the talks on Thursday. Representatives from the Syrian foreign ministry and intelligence officials were in attendance, Syria's Ekhbariya reported. Hundreds of people have been reported killed in clashes in the southern Syrian province of Sweida between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces. Israel intervened with airstrikes to prevent what it said was mass killings of Druze by government forces. Last week's clashes underlined the challenges interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa faces in stabilising Syria and maintaining centralised rule, despite warming ties with the U.S. and his administration's evolving security contacts with Israel. The diplomatic source said the meeting involved initial consultations aimed at 'reducing tensions and opening channels of communication amid an ongoing escalation since early December'. The Syrian side held Israel responsible for the latest escalation, saying that the continuation of such 'hostile policies' was threatening the region, according to the source. The Syrian delegation also said that Damascus would not accept 'imposing new realities on the ground'. - Reuters
Barnama
an hour ago
- Barnama
Palestinian Journalist Echoes The Cries Of His People
By Suraidah Roslan KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Bernama) -- Palestinian journalist Younus Abdel Hamid Abu Jarad may be miles away from Gaza, but the anguish of his homeland weighs heavily on him. Based in Istanbul, Turkiye, 43-year-old Younus turns his pain into purpose, using powerful stories and images shared by his colleagues in Gaza to report on the suffering there. bootstrap slideshow Through his work, he gives a voice to those in pain and tells the world about their ongoing struggle with deep determination. 'It is hard not to feel emotional when you witness the suffering of others. Although I am not on the ground covering the unrest, I feel equally saddened by the stories and images shared with me. 'In the past few days, people have been collapsing from hunger. People are dying of starvation as humanitarian aid is being blocked by the Israeli military,' he said during a special meeting with a Palestinian activist delegation organised by the Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia (PCOM) here recently. These accounts, he explained, were shared by a trusted partner he has been working with directly in Gaza, despite the severe lack of resources and the difficult conditions on the ground. 'Palestinians have no life left to live, yet they hold on to the smallest glimmers of hope just to stay alive and endure this genocide,' said Younus, who holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science and a Master's degree in Modern History, both from the Islamic University of Gaza. Sharing his views, Younus said there is a serious imbalance in the global narrative about the situation in Gaza, mainly due to limited international media coverage.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Macron's solo move on Palestine recognition driven by Gaza crisis
PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France would become the first Western member of the United Nations Security Council to recognise a Palestinian state in September has caused diplomatic ructions from the Middle East through Europe to Washington. But it did not come out of the blue. When Macron visited the Egyptian town of Al-Arish on the border with Gaza in April, he was struck by the mounting humanitarian crisis and made clear on his return home that Paris would soon opt for recognition. Working with Saudi Arabia, Macron came up with a plan to have France plus G7 allies Britain and Canada recognise Palestinian statehood, while pushing Arab states to adopt a softer stance towards Israel through a United Nations conference. But despite weeks of talks he failed to get others on board. Three diplomats said London did not want to face the wrath of the United States, and Ottawa took a similar stance, leaving Macron to go it alone. 'It became increasingly apparent that we could not wait to get partners on board,' said a French diplomat, adding France will work to get more states on board ahead of conference on a two-state solution in September. Domestically Macron was under rising pressure to do something amid widespread anger at the harrowing images coming out of Gaza. Although with both Europe's biggest Muslim and Jewish communities and a polarised political landscape, there was no obvious course of action that would satisfy all sides. Israel and its staunch supporter the United States have blasted France's move, branding it a reward for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which ran Gaza and whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 triggered the current war. Macron had discussed the matter extensively with both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in advance. Trump said on Friday that France's decision didn't 'carry any weight' but added Macron was 'a good guy'. CONFERENCE PLAN French officials previously considered an announcement at a conference scheduled for June at the United Nations, co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, to sketch out a roadmap to a viable Palestinian state while also ensuring Israel's security. But the conference was postponed amid intense U.S. diplomatic pressure and after Israeli air strikes on Iran. Macron's announcement on Thursday is linked to a rescheduled and rejigged version of the U.N. conference, now planned to take place Monday and Tuesday. That meeting will be at ministerial level, but Paris decided it would hold a second event with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September, where Macron will announce formal recognition. Some analysts say Macron has used the carrot of recognition to extract concessions from Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority which is a moderate rival to Hamas, and other regional players. 'Macron here is acting as a catalyst to get the Palestinians to deliver on the needed reforms, to get the Arabs to deliver on a stabilization force and the disarming of Hamas,' said Rym Momtaz, editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog run by the Carnegie Europe think tank. Others say while recognition has symbolic value, there will still be no functioning Palestinian state whenever the war in Gaza comes to an end. 'Recognition by a European heavyweight like France is indicative of the rising frustration with Israel's intransigent policies,' said Amjad Iraqi, senior analyst at International Crisis Group. 'What's the point of recognising a state if they're doing little to stop it from turning into ruins?' French officials point to months of intense Israeli lobbying to try to prevent Macron's move - and Netanyahu's fierce criticism of it - as evidence that it matters a lot to Israeli leaders. Sources familiar with the matter say Israel's warnings to France had ranged from scaling back intelligence-sharing to complicating Paris' regional initiatives - even hinting at possible annexation of parts of the West Bank. But French officials concluded that Netanyahu would do whatever he thought was in his interests in the West Bank anyway, regardless of what France did on recognition. Israel's parliament voted on Wednesday in favour of a non-binding declaration urging the government to apply Israeli law to the West Bank, widely seen as a de facto annexation of the territory. That added to the urgency in Paris. 'If there is a moment in history to recognise a Palestinian state, even if it's just symbolic, then I would say that moment has probably come,' said a senior French official. - Reuters
