By Euronews with AP
Published on 20/06/2025 – 15:05 GMT+2•Updated
17:08
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More countries are evacuating their citizens from the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran rages on, despite international efforts to find a diplomatic solution.
Days of attacks and reprisals by the adversaries have shuttered airspace across the region, severely disrupting commercial flights.
A repatriation flight transporting 69 people from Israel landed in Portugal on Thursday evening, with 48 Portuguese citizens among the passengers.
The Portuguese government announced the temporary closure of its embassy in Tehran this week, alongside ongoing repatriation operations in the Middle East.
In Serbia, 38 people arrived safely in Belgrade on Thursday night, most of whom were Serbian nationals.
They arrived on a special Air Serbia flight from Sharm el-Sheikh, organised by the Serbian government, who said the evacuation of those wishing to leave Israel and Iran would continue.
On Thursday, Serbian Prime Minister Đuro Macut met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo to discuss the emergency evacuation of more than 2,500 Serbian nationals stranded in Israel.
Meanwhile, in Romania, more than a hundred people arrived in the capital Bucharest on Friday on military transport flights from the Middle East.
The Romanian Ministry of Defence sent the planes to the region after its nationals requested assistance.
The conflict between Israel and Iran erupted on 13 June following Israeli bombings on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, which resulted in the deaths of military leaders, scientists and civilians.
More than 400 EU citizens from countries including Greece, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia have been evacuated from Israel in flights supported by the European Commission.
