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A total of 22 Cypriot citizens have been safely evacuated from Israel and Iran as the Foreign Ministry ramps up repatriation efforts amid rising regional tensions, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Wednesday.
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Kombos confirmed that 17 Cypriots, 12 from Israel and five from Iran, have already been moved to safer neighboring countries, with several having arrived back in Cyprus. The remaining evacuees are en route and are expected to arrive once commercial flights can accommodate them.
“These are extremely difficult and dangerous conditions,” Kombos said. “Our top priority is to get our people to safety and then bring them home.”
From conflict zones to safer ground
Ten Cypriots crossed by road from Israel into Egypt and were flown to Greece aboard a Greek Air Force plane. Plans are now underway for their return to Cyprus via Athens.
Another three citizens reached Jordan and returned to Larnaca on a Slovak Air Force flight as part of Slovakia’s wider evacuation of foreign nationals through the EU-backed “Estia” plan. Kombos thanked Slovak officials for including the Cypriots in the mission.
Four more people, two patients and their companions, were flown out of Israel by air ambulance.
In Iran, five Cypriots were taken by motorcade to a location far from Tehran and then flown to Armenia. They are currently in Yerevan awaiting a commercial flight home.
However, two more Cypriots remain in Iran. They’ve been relocated to a safer region near the Caspian Sea. A third person requested evacuation too late to join the initial group but is now also being assisted.
“We are doing our job”
Kombos emphasized that the ministry’s goal is purely humanitarian and that it is not concerned with the reasons citizens were in the region. “Our job is to help them return safely. That’s our only focus,” he said.
As of Tuesday, 53 Cypriots in Israel had requested repatriation. That number has now dropped, as 19 individuals chose to wait and see how the situation evolves.
“We’re working on multiple fronts,” Kombos said. “We’re coordinating with our embassies, other nations, and international partners to bring our citizens back safely.”
