They traveled for 16 hours from Iran to reach the border gate, then continued on to Baku, the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, he said at a virtual press briefing held from Istanbul, Türkiye.
"Alhamdulillah (Thank God). The first phase of our evacuation mission has so far gone well," he said, adding that three of the 96 evacuees are staff members of the Indonesian Embassy.
Regarding the evacuation mission, the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) previously shared information from the Foreign Ministry about Indonesians in Iran and Israel.
Related news: 97 Indonesians set to return from Iran: Minister Sugiono
The ministry revealed that 115 of 386 Indonesian nationals in Iran and 11 of 192 in Israel are prepared for evacuation due to the escalating conflict between Tehran and Tel Aviv. The evacuees from Iran departed for Baku at 7 a.m. local time on Friday, June 20. They are expected to spend two nights in the Azerbaijani capital before taking a commercial flight to Jakarta on Sunday, June 22.
Meanwhile, Indonesian citizens in Israel will be evacuated by air via Amman, Jordan, according to TNI spokesperson Maj. Gen. Kristomei Sianturi, citing the ministry's information.
In his remarks, Foreign Minister Sugiono, who is currently in Istanbul for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Summit, also confirmed that four Indonesians were successfully evacuated from Israel through Jordan.
Related news: Indonesia readies aircraft to evacuate citizens from Iran, Israel
All evacuees are reported to be in good condition. The Foreign Ministry remains in contact with several other Indonesians in Israel who are preparing for evacuation.
The Iran-Israel conflict escalated after Tel Aviv launched surprise attacks on Tehran’s nuclear sites and military facilities on June 13. In response to the attacks and the killing of several top Iranian officials, Tehran launched retaliatory strikes on Israeli targets on Friday evening, local time.
IRNA quoted a senior Iranian military official, General Ahmad Vahidi, as saying that the retaliatory strikes—known as Operation True Promise III—would "continue for as long as necessary."
Related news: Israel-Iran conflict: Prabowo calls for peaceful resolution
Translator: Katrina, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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