Nearly 7,000 Canadians return home from Middle East since Feb. 28: Top diplomat

WASHINGTON

Nearly 7,000 Canadians have returned to Canada from the Middle East since late February, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday.

"Since February 28, nearly 7,000 Canadians, permanent residents, and their family members have returned to Canada," Anand wrote on US social media company X.

She added that 110,700 Canadians were on the Registration of Canadians Abroad (ROCA) system as of Tuesday.

Anand noted a decline in the number of registrants from the system.

"Our government will continue to support Canadians in the Middle East and the Gulf region," she said.

Regional tensions have escalated since Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran that has killed more than 1,300 people, including former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets.