Commonwealth_ Ottawa has launched bus transportation services for Canadians attempting to flee Israel, the West Bank, and Iran, amidst rising regional tensions. The development follows days of grievances that Canada was moving too slowly in responding to evacuation efforts, even though countries like France and Australia had already begun evacuating their citizens. There has been low uptake of the new transportation services, with only a few citizens taking up government-funded assistance.
Canada’s updated travel warning now cautions against “high degree of caution” in Qatar after Iran fired missiles at an American airbase there. Travel warnings against Iran and Israel, however, are still strong, with Canada advising citizens to avoid all travel to those nations due to ongoing hostilities and limited access. Global Affairs Canada reported that about 6,000 Canadians have signed on to be present in Israel, a total of approximately 400 in the West Bank, and 5,500 in Iran. Regardless, officials acknowledge the real figures are greater as Canadians abroad fail to officially report to the authorities.
Canada instructed seats in buses to help citizens flee from regions of conflict in recent days. On Monday, only 55 Canadians took a bus from Tel Aviv to Jordan, and seven others left from the West Bank. The initial bus was set to depart on Sunday but was delayed due to the unstable security situation. Another 10 Canadians in Iran made their way to the Turkish border on a Canadian-arranged bus. Four more buses have been left at a border crossing with Turkey and Iran to assist in future evacuations.
Canada also chartered a flight that was departing from Aqaba, Jordan, and flying to Athens, Greece. Out of 265 available seats, only 100 passengers volunteered to pay the $400 cost-recovery fare for the flight. Canadians would be responsible for booking their own return flights from Athens, with embassy staff providing support if needed. Officials report that the number of available evacuation seats, both by bus and plane, continues to outstrip the number of citizens who are interested in them.
Canada closed its embassy in Iran in 2012 and has no diplomatic presence in the country, making coordination difficult. The government has maintained officials in border states like Turkey and Azerbaijan to help with evacuation and consular needs. Over 100 Canadians have been arranged into Azerbaijan from Iran, though internet outages, fuel shortages and congested roads have prevented travel inside Iran. Since the missile attack by Israel against Iran on June 13, Iranian internet service has been disrupted, making communication directly with Canadian citizens even more challenging.
Despite Ottawa having severed diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2012, Canadian officials recently made direct contact. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand spoke to her Iranian counterpart, a much bigger deal for Canada-Iran relations. Officials familiar with Canada’s Middle East foreign policy confirmed that this was likely the first such contact in over ten years.
The latest bout of fighting between Israel and Iran has resulted in closed airspace over a significant portion of the region. Iran also recently launched missile attacks against the al-Udeid airbase in Qatar, a strategic U.S. military base. In retaliation for the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear targets, Iranian officials attacked the base, although Qatar was able to successfully defend against the attack and evacuate personnel in advance. Of the personnel sent to al-Udeid were five Canadian Armed Forces personnel. Canadian military authorities reported that none of them were injured during the incident.
