Italy and China evacuate citizens from Iran via Azerbaijan

Around 60 Italian nationals have been evacuated from Iran to Azerbaijan through the Astara border crossing, Italy’s foreign ministry said on Friday.

The operation was carried out in two phases, the ministry said. In the second phase, 24 people departed Tehran early in the morning with assistance from the Italian embassy in Iran. They were met at the border by staff from the embassy in Baku and later transferred to the Azerbaijani capital’s airport to board flights back to Italy.

An earlier group of 34 Italians had already crossed into Azerbaijan as part of the first phase, the ministry added.

Chinese state media reported separately that more than 740 Chinese nationals have also been evacuated from Iran into Azerbaijan. The Chinese embassy in Baku arranged hotel accommodations and booked return flights for the evacuees, and the evacuation effort is ongoing.