Foreign Office starts planning evacution of thousands of Britons in Middle East

Foreign Office starts planning evacution of thousands of Britons in Middle East About 200,000 nationals thought to be in the region as tensions rise after US-Israeli attacks on Iranian regime US-Israeli war on Iran: latest updates The Foreign Office is drawing up plans to evacuate tens of thousands of British citizens if war in the Middle East escalates, with many travellers currently stranded in Dubai . Keir Starmer said on Sunday that about 200,000 British people are in the region, on holiday or otherwise travelling across the Gulf. He urged everyone in areas targeted by Iranian strikes to register with the Foreign Office to receive advice, with about 94,000 doing that so far. More than 50,000 of those are believed to be in the United Arab Emirates, and most of those are holidaymakers or other travellers, rather than residents, with Dubai a major tourist and business destination. Its airspace is currently closed, leaving tourists without a plan for getting home. The UK government’s advice is for people to follow local instructions, especially where it is to shelter in their current location. But the situation is uncertain and Whitehall sources said the government is looking at all options including evacuations via different routes if the airspace remains closed and tensions escalate. One possibility could be evacuation by road to neighbouring countries where the airspace remains open, such as Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Defence is working with the Foreign Office on options as part of an unprecedented consular operation involving registering people across multiple countries to identify who may need support. The Foreign Office’s advice is against all travel to Iran, Israel and Palestine. It also advises against all but essential travel to the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, and there are further instructions to avoid travel to some parts of Pakistan. British nationals in Saudi Arabia are advised to stay at home, while those in Jordan, Oman, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen a...