Germany asks its citizens to leave Iran in the face of an imminent attack on Israel

Austria urges its nationals to “extreme precautions”

BERLIN, April 13 (DPA/EP) –

The German Foreign Ministry has asked all German citizens in Iran to leave the country, while also recommending that travel to the region be avoided.

“The current tensions in the region, particularly between Israel and Iran, harbor the risk of a sudden escalation,” explained this Friday night the Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, who warned that the security situation could deteriorate. quickly and without prior notice.

“It cannot be ruled out that an escalation will also affect air, land and sea transport routes, with the corresponding possible restrictions on entry and exit from Iran,” added the minister.

The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, has discussed with her Iranian counterpart, Hosein Amirabdolahian, the escalation of tensions in the Middle East and has appealed for “maximum restraint” by all parties to prevent it from escalating, after that Tehran has threatened to respond to the Israeli bombing of its Consulate in Damascus.

In a similar tone, the Austrian Foreign Ministry has issued a notice with “advice for traveling to Iraq, Iran, Jordan and Lebanon”, in which it has indicated that, “due to the current tense situation in the region , a greater risk can be expected, especially in the coming days” and has urged “Austrians staying here to take extreme precautions.”

In this context, several airlines such as Australina Airlines have announced that they will suspend flights between Vienna and Tehran and “change routes through Iranian airspace” until April 18, according to 'The Times of Israel'.

These warnings come after Baerbock addressed this Thursday with his Iranian counterpart, Hosein Amirabdolahian, the escalation of tensions in the Middle East, appealing for the “maximum restraint” of all parties to prevent it from escalating, after Tehran threatened to respond to the Israeli bombing of its Consulate in Damascus.

Thus, Germany and Austria join other countries such as the United States, which this Thursday limited travel for personal reasons to American officials and their families in Israel due to threats from Iran, or France, which has advised against traveling to Israel, Iran , Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories “in the coming days” for the same reason.

Last week, an attack attributed to Israel hit the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, the capital of Syria, leaving at least fifteen dead, including senior military commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

Tehran has since warned that it reserves the right to respond, as fears of an imminent offensive have grown in recent days.