More than 600 foreign nationals have fled Iran for Azerbaijan since Israel launched strikes on Iranian territory last Friday, according to an Azerbaijani government official quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Among those evacuated are citizens of the United States, China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Italy, and several other countries. The evacuees crossed the border at Astara, a key crossing point on the Caspian Sea coast, before being transported to Baku Airport, where they boarded international flights to their respective home countries.

Although Azerbaijan has kept its land borders closed since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the official said an exception had been made to accommodate urgent evacuation needs.

“In light of the evacuation need, Azerbaijan has temporarily opened its border for those leaving Iran,” the official stated.

In a similar move, Turkmenistan announced that it had allowed the transit of approximately 120 citizens from various Central Asian countries who were evacuated from Iran amid rising regional tensions.