Saadet Gokce
18 June 2025•Update: 18 June 2025
ISTANBUL
Several Asia-Pacific nations have launched operations to evacuate their citizens from Iran and Israel amid the ongoing conflict.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that 791 Chinese citizens were evacuated from Iran "with the active assistance and support of nearby countries," while another 1,000-plus people are still being relocated and evacuated.
"Some Chinese nationals have already been safely evacuated from Israel," Guo said.
Separately, India on Wednesday launched "Operation Sindhu" to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran. New Delhi has evacuated 110 students from northern Iran through Armenia so far, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Pakistan evacuated 107 of its citizens from Iran on Wednesday, while having earlier evacuated some 400 of its pilgrims from Iran.
Taiwan also took emergency measures to evacuate its citizens in the region, evacuating 20 of its citizens from Israel, local broadcaster TVBS World reported.
The Philippines has evacuated 61 of its citizens from the region so far, with no mandatory evacuation yet in sight, the Philstar newspaper reported.
Japan mulls over evacuating around 90 citizens and their families from Iran by land starting Thursday, as well as evacuating Japanese citizens in Israel to Jordan via land routes, reported Kyodo News, citing a government source.
Nepal has also begun plans to evacuate its citizens in Israel. The embassy in Tel Aviv is collecting Nepalis' details for evacuation purposes, reported Republica.
At least 650 Australians in Iran and another 600 in Israel have also registered with the Australian authorities so far to leave the region, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Malaysia plans to evacuate its citizens from Iran by Friday, Free Malaysia Today reported, citing the government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil.
Indonesia also plans to evacuate 386 Indonesians in Iran and 194 Indonesian citizens in Israel if the situation worsens, according to the Jakarta Globe.
Pakistan, China, Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia have condemned the Israeli attacks on Iran.
Regional tensions have escalated since Friday, when Israel launched airstrikes on multiple sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
At least 585 people have been killed and 1,326 others injured since Israel launched attacks on Iran last Friday.
Israeli authorities said at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.
