HAMILTON, Canada

Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Tuesday that she has asked her Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi to use Oman’s airspace "if necessary" to evacuate Canadians from the region.

"Our top priority right now is the 100,000 Canadians that are in the region," Anand said during an event at the Toronto Board of Trade.

She said that she is speaking to her counterparts from the Gulf countries as well as the Middle East and affirmed that Ottawa is "making sure that there are possibilities for Canadians" to receive the support they need in those countries.

Tensions have escalated across the region since the US and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Saturday against Iran, killing nearly 800 people, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Gulf countries, which are home to US military assets.