BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. The evacuation of
citizens from Iran, including both Azerbaijanis and nationals of
other countries, continues amid ongoing regional tensions, Trend reports.


From 08:00 (GMT+4) on February 28 to 07:00 (GMT+4) on March 9, a
total of 1,918 people were safely evacuated from Iran.


The evacuees included 541 citizens of China, 314 citizens of
Azerbaijan, 290 citizens of Russia, 173 citizens of Tajikistan, 123
citizens of Pakistan, 57 citizens of Oman, 44 citizens of Italy, 32
citizens of Indonesia, 26 citizens of Spain, 26 citizens of Iran,
18 citizens of Saudi Arabia, 17 citizens of Japan, 16 citizens of
France, 14 citizens of Germany, 13 citizens of Georgia, 13 citizens
of Hungary, 12 citizens of Uzbekistan, 10 citizens of Bulgaria, 10
citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo, 10 citizens of
Nigeria, 8 citizens of Brazil, 8 citizens of Great Britain, 8
citizens of Kazakhstan, and 7 citizens of Belarus.


The list also includes 6 citizens each from Slovakia, the UAE,
Belgium, and Canada; 5 citizens each from Afghanistan, Serbia, the
Czech Republic, Switzerland, Romania, and Austria; 4 citizens each
from Jordan, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Türkiye, Bahrain, Kuwait, and
Bangladesh; 3 citizens each from the Philippines, Qatar, Mexico,
Finland, and Croatia; 2 citizens each from Nepal, Lebanon, Yemen,
Kyrgyzstan, Sudan, India, Cyprus, Slovenia, and Sweden; and 1
citizen each from Poland, Australia, Tunisia, South Africa, the
Maldives, Myanmar, Cuba, the Vatican, Argentina, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Latvia, Egypt, and the United States.


On March 8, Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba
Khamenei, the son of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei,
as Iran’s 3rd Supreme Leader by majority vote. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali
Khamenei was killed along with members of his family during
military airstrikes carried out by the United States and Israel on
February 28.


Following the 2nd 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 the previous day have reportedly
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.


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