The Foreign Ministry stated Tuesday that as airspace in much of the Middle East is closed, it is safer for overseas Taiwanese in the region to stay put for the time being. As such, there are currently no plans to airlift citizens. However, the ministry will assist any Taiwanese citizens wishing to evacuate by land.

After the United States and Israel jointly bombed several locations throughout Iran, including the capital Tehran, Iranian armed forces have retaliated by attacking several U.S. and Israeli facilities across the Middle East.

Per Deputy Foreign Minister François Wu Chih-chung (吳志中), there are approximately 3,000 Taiwanese expatriates and and citizens in the Middle East, including more than 200 stranded in Israel. He said Taiwan’s overseas representative offices are closely monitoring the situation and that the safety of Taiwanese nationals is a top priority.

“We are asking citizens to remain where they are and wait until the airspace reopens. However, if any nationals wish to leave by land, and are able to do so, we will help them. Two individuals in Israel have already left by land for Jordan and Kuwait,” Wu said.

He explained that most other countries do not have plans to evacuate their citizens from the area, either. The current policy is to assist nationals in remaining safely where they are and to depart after airspace reopens. Taiwan’s overseas representative offices have been contacting nationals individually to check on them.