MAE: We are monitoring 16,000 citizens in the region. 3,000 citizens are requesting assistance

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Țărnea, announced developments in the Middle East conflict, stating: „I will begin with a few words about the general security situation in the Middle East. As many of you have seen, throughout yesterday, last night, and the first part of today, air strikes continued in countries in the Middle East, not only in Israel and Iran, but there were also drone and missile attacks in Bahrain, in industrial areas in the United Arab Emirates, and in a commercial port in Oman,” adding that these developments led to the total or partial closure of airspace in the region.

Presenting the situation of Romanians in the region, the official pointed out that during the morning, two Tarom planes landed in Bucharest, bringing 307 Romanian citizens evacuated from Israel back to the country.

In addition, Țărnea also announced the number of Romanian citizens under the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. „Whether they are requesting information or assistance, we have about 3,000 citizens requesting help for repatriation, and we are monitoring about 16,000 citizens in the region. Once again, this is not the total number of Romanian citizens in these areas, but it is about those who are Romanian citizens and are not necessarily residents,” the official said.

Regarding the high number of people, Țărnea said: „Against this backdrop, as you know, the consular staff dedicated to the telephone lines has been increased. We continue to receive messages from citizens, especially from families or through the media, that it remains difficult to contact the consulates. I fear that this will remain persistent throughout the crisis because, given the number of people, there is not the physical capacity to handle so many calls simultaneously.”

Regarding the diplomatic actions taken by the authorities in Bucharest, he announced that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned Iran’s attacks on states in the region and that Minister Oana Țoiu has had telephone conversations with her counterparts in Egypt, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Jordan „to address both the political and security aspects, as well as the circumstances and assistance that can be provided to Romanian citizens in these countries.”

„We have continued, together with the international community and the member states of the European Union, to deplore Iran’s completely unjustified and illegal attacks against countries in the region, which are precisely what are causing these exceptional circumstances for such a large number of Romanian citizens,” Țărnea added.