ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 4. Kazakhstan’s
national carrier Air Astana has evacuated 640 people from Saudi
Arabia, Trend reports
via the company.
On the night of March 3-4, the airline operated four
repatriation flights on the following routes: Medina–Atyrau,
Medina–Aktau, and two flights from Jeddah to Atyrau.
Two additional repatriation flights are scheduled for March 4.
They will be carried out in cooperation with Kazakhstan’s Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.
Following the second round of nuclear talks between Washington
and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S.
increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150
aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East.
The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between
Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the
administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations
were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically.
However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt
uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept
indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its
airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister
Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive.
In a significant escalation, military airstrikes conducted by
Israel and the United States resulted in the deaths of Iran’s
Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several members of his
family.
Additionally, several of Iran’s most senior military and
security officials were killed in the airstrikes, including Chief
of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Supreme
Leader adviser and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and
Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.
