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DUBLIN — Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Harris announced overnight that three Irish citizens and their dependents, including two children, were safely evacuated from Iran. The group is now en route home after arriving at a supportive transit hub.
This successful mission follows the evacuation of 15 Irish citizens and dependents from Israel earlier this week. In a statement, Minister Harris expressed gratitude to “our European friends and partners for their excellent support.”
He urged any Irish nationals still in Iran to register online at citizensregistration.dfa.ie to ensure they receive timely consular updates.
Amid Escalating Regional Tensions
The evacuations come amid spiraling Middle East tensions after the U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities. The strikes followed a week of mutually escalatory missile exchanges between Tehran and Tel Aviv, which began when Israel launched a series of preemptive attacks on Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has issued a strong travel advisory, warning Irish citizens not to travel to either Israel or Iran due to the risk of further missile attacks.
Consular Coordination and Diplomatic Updates
Harris emphasized that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, along with Irish embassies, have maintained continuous contact with Irish nationals in both countries throughout the crisis.
“We have worked closely with our EU and other partners to exchange information and coordinate our consular response,” he said.
Minister Harris is attending an urgent Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels today, where U.S. military strikes on Iran are expected to dominate discussions. He plans to brief his European counterparts on a recent conversation with Iran’s deputy foreign minister, urging an EU-wide push for diplomatic solutions to de-escalate the situation and revive talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.
He will also raise concerns about Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza, describing them as “dystopian scenes,” and push for the EU to take “swift and concrete action” following a review of Israel’s conduct in that conflict.
