No injured Swiss nationals in crisis region
Keystone-SDA
The Swiss foreign ministry is not aware of any Swiss nationals who have been injured or killed in the region since the attacks by the US and Israel against Iran. However, several people are unable to leave the country due to air traffic restrictions.
Since the outbreak of hostilities, foreign ministry staff have answered over 300 enquiries on their helpline, said spokesperson Michael Steiner in response to an enquiry from the Keystone-SDA news agency on Sunday. The ministry has therefore increased its capacities.
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They are also in contact with those Swiss nationals who are unable to leave the region due to air traffic restrictions. They are being supported “as far as possible”.
However, the ministry is not organising any evacuations of Swiss nationals. People who wish to leave the country should contact airlines and tour operators to find out about the options and use the available commercial means of transport. The ministry is calling on Swiss nationals on the ground to follow the instructions of the local authorities and register on the TravelAdmin app.
Thousands of Swiss nationals in the region
According to the foreign ministry, around 5,200 Swiss nationals abroad are registered in the United Arab Emirates, in addition to almost 900 travellers. In Israel, around 25,000 people are registered in the Register of the Swiss Abroad and around 100 on the Travel Admin travel app.
Around 540 Swiss nationals abroad are registered in Saudi Arabia, around 350 in Qatar and around 180 in Iran. The majority of those registered in Iran also have Iranian citizenship. Around 100 to 120 Swiss nationals live in other countries in the region such as Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. There are 180 registered Swiss travellers in Oman and only a low single-digit number in Kuwait, Bahrain and Yemen.
Embassies remain in operation
According to the foreign ministry, all Swiss embassies in the region remain operational. Staff are safe and there has been no damage to the infrastructure. All representations have security and crisis plans in place, which include emergency plans. The ministry is not commenting on specific measures.
Four of the ten remaining employees of the Swiss embassy in Tehran were ordered back to Switzerland on Saturday. However, they cannot leave the country due to the closure of airspace, Monika Schmutz Kirgöz, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Division at the foreign ministry said in an interview with the SonntagsZeitung newspaper. The four employees are currently staying in a hotel near the airport.
Six other employees will remain at the embassy in Tehran for the time being. The number of staff had already been reduced from 14 to 10 in the previous days. Beds have been set up in a cellar for the employees in Tehran. The five foreign ministry employees at the embassy in Tel Aviv can retreat to bunkers in the event of an air raid.
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Adapted from German by AI/ac
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