The Foreign Office is calling
Germans should leave Iran immediately
April 13, 2024, 12:34 a.m
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US President Biden says he expects an Iranian attack on Israel sooner rather than later, without naming other intelligence sources. The Foreign Office now urgently advises all German citizens to leave Iran. An escalation could affect air, land and sea routes.
The Foreign Office in Berlin has asked all German nationals in Iran to leave the country. At the same time, it warned against traveling to Iran. “The current tensions in the region, particularly between Israel and Iran, pose the risk of a sudden escalation,” the Foreign Office said in the evening. Accordingly, the security situation can deteriorate quickly and without warning. “It cannot be ruled out that air, land and sea transport routes could also be affected by an escalation, with corresponding possible impairments of travel to and from Iran,” it said.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry also warned against traveling to Iran. Austrians were asked to leave Iran (security level 6), the authorities announced. In the coming days in particular, an increased risk can be expected due to the current tense situation in the region.
Biden’s message to Tehran: “Leave it”
US President Joe Biden said he expected an attack to occur “sooner rather than later”. But he did not want to comment on intelligence information. When asked by a journalist what his message was to Iran, Biden said: “Leave it.” At the same time, the 81-year-old made it clear that he was on Israel’s side. “We are committed to the defense of Israel,” he emphasized. “We will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed.” In view of Iran’s possible retaliatory strike against Israel, the US had previously announced that it would increase its military presence in the region.
At the beginning of April, two brigadier generals and five other members of the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were killed in a suspected Israeli air strike on the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus. Since then, the Iranian leadership has repeatedly threatened retaliation.