Several nations working to evacuate citizens as Israel-Iran conflict heats up

When Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion" with a series of surprise attacks early last Friday morning, citizens of various countries found themselves stranded in both Israel and Iran, as the skies over both nations quickly shut down amid Israeli airstrikes, drone assaults, and waves of Iranian ballistic missile fire.

In the days that followed, with civilian air traffic still suspended in both countries, several governments have begun implementing programs to evacuate their citizens stranded in Israel and Iran.

Japan is reportedly deploying military aircraft to its base in Djibouti in preparation for a possible air evacuation of its citizens. Approximately 280 Japanese nationals are currently in Iran, while an estimated 1,000 are in Israel.

China is also reportedly planning to evacuate citizens from Israel, the Chinese embassy in Israel stated. A notice on the embassy’s "WeChat" social media account stated that the Chinese government is preparing to send its citizens in groups to the Taba border crossing with Egypt, starting on Friday.

“There is huge uncertainty in how the situation may evolve, and further deterioration cannot be ruled out,” the post read.

On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a de-escalation of the conflict, emphasizing that Beijing opposes any actions that infringe on the sovereignty of other nations. China has already evacuated approximately 800 citizens from Iran in recent days and is expected to evacuate around 1,000 more in the coming days.

While several European nations have already evacuated hundreds of their citizens from Israel, the nations' embassies were trying to evacuate through neighboring Jordan any remaining citizens wishing to leave. 

According to an AFP report, busloads carrying hundreds of European citizens were transported to the Israel-Jordan border, where they were required to cross on foot before continuing to the airport in Amman. Several European countries deployed military aircraft to Jordan to assist in repatriating their nationals.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on Wednesday that the American embassy is making arrangements to evacuate U.S. citizens.

The “US Embassy in Israel is working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures,” he posted on 𝕏.  

Urgent notice! American citizens wanting to leave Israel- US Embassy in Israel @usembassyjlm is working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures.
You must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) (https://t.co/rXymPRTQJJ) You will be alerted w/ updates.

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 18, 2025

Huckabee said anyone interested in leaving through the embassy’s efforts “must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).” 

Australia has also launched efforts to evacuate about 1,500 citizens from Iran and some 1,200 from Israel. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong noted that the closure of airspace in both countries has made the situation more challenging.

"There's no capacity for people to get civilian aircraft in, it is too risky, and the airspace is closed," Wong told national broadcaster ABC. "We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing. We are seeking to try and do more of that over the next 24 hours.” 

The Philippines is also preparing to repatriate approximately 28 Filipino workers from Israel who have requested assistance in leaving the country, Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said on Thursday.

According to Al Arabiya, the European nation of Slovakia, which has already begun repatriating some of its citizens since Monday, also assisted in evacuating citizens from several other European countries, including 15 from Poland, 14 from the Czech Republic, 9 from Austria, 2 from Slovenia, and one citizen each from Spain, Estonia, and Malaysia.