Almost 3,000 Australians seek to flee Israel-Iran conflict

SYDNEY: Australia has started evacuating almost 3,000 citizens caught up in the rapidly spiralling conflict between Israel and Iran, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday.

But rescue efforts had been hampered by missile barrages that made it “too risky” for civilian aircraft to land in either country, Wong said.

Some 1,500 Australians had registered to be evacuated from Iran, while more than 1,200 were seeking to get out of Israel, she said.

“There’s no capacity for people to get civilian aircraft in, it is too risky, and the airspace is closed,” Wong told national broadcaster ABC.

“We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing.

“We are seeking to try and do more of that over the next 24 hours.”

New Zealand said Thursday it had closed its embassy in Iran, evacuating two staff members and their family to Azerbaijan by land.

“If and when opportunities arise to assist the departure of other New Zealanders in Iran and Israel, we will pursue them with urgency,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.

Israel and Iran have in recent days traded an escalating series of strikes and missile retaliations, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East.