Australia expresses gratitude to Azerbaijan for support to its citizens

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20.​ Australia has
expressed its gratitude to Azerbaijan for the support provided to
Australian citizens, a source at the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
told Trend.

Reportedly, during a recent phone conversation, Australian
Foreign Minister Penny Wong informed her Azerbaijani counterpart,
Jeyhun Bayramov, of Canberra’s plans to evacuate its citizens from
Iran and extended her appreciation for Azerbaijan’s assistance in
this regard.

Earlier, Wong noted that the Australian government has announced
a decision to evacuate all Australian officials and their families
from Iran and suspend embassy operations in Tehran indefinitely due
to the deteriorating security situation.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is deploying
consular officers to Azerbaijan to support Australians leaving
Iran. We strongly encourage Australians who can safely leave Iran
to do so now. For those who cannot or do not want to leave, we
advise them to take precautions,” the minister stressed.

Israel launched airstrikes on Iran in the early hours of June
13, killing a significant number of military personnel. Among the
dead were Iran’s Chief of the General Staff Mohammad Bagheri, IRGC
Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami, Khatam al-Anbiya Central
Headquarters Commander Gholamali Rashid, and IRGC Aerospace Force
Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Nine nuclear scientists and several
high-ranking officials were also reported killed.

That same evening, Iran responded with a large-scale attack,
firing more than 150 ballistic missiles and over 100 drones at Tel
Aviv and other locations. The strikes caused civilian casualties
and extensive damage.

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