Thailand to prepare planes to evacuate nationals from Israel Iran Government spokesman

BANGKOK – The Thai government has ordered its military to prepare planes to evacuate citizens from Israel and Iran, a spokesman said on June 17, as the two sides exchanged missile fire for a fifth day.

An estimated 40,000 Thais are currently living in Israel, most working on farms under a government labour scheme, and around 300 nationals are living in Iran.

“We are ready to evacuate people and have coordinated with the military to prepare planes to bring them home from Israel and Iran,” government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.

Israel and Iran have both closed their airspace since the conflict broke out when Israel began striking military and nuclear targets in Iran on June 13.

Mr Jirayu said Thai embassies in both countries have prepared evacuation plans for its nationals.

The Thai embassy in Tehran announced on its official Facebook page that it had set up a temporary shelter for citizens outside the capital.

Meanwhile, China said some of its citizens had been able to leave Iran.

“At present, some Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated to neighbouring countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Bejing. AFP