Statement by the Tánaiste on evacuation of Irish citizens and dependents from Israel

I am pleased to confirm that a group of 15 Irish citizens and dependents were assisted to depart Israel today. The individuals concerned departed in operations organised by an EU partner and they are expected to arrive in Ireland in the coming days.

Throughout this crisis, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and our Embassy in Tel Aviv have remained in regular contact with Irish citizens in the region. We have worked closely with our EU and other partners to exchange information and coordinate our consular response to the situation.

I would like to thank the Government of Austria for the close cooperation which resulted in today’s successful evacuation.

I would also like to thank our consular response teams in Tel Aviv, Dublin and across the Middle East who continue to support Irish citizens in the region.

We continue to advise citizens in both Israel and Iran to remain vigilant, to monitor developments and media, and to follow advice from the authorities, including when this is to shelter in place.

All citizens in the region should register with the nearest Irish Embassy, if they have not already done so.

Our Embassies will remain in close contact with all citizens in Israel and Iran over the days and weeks ahead. Our wider political work on the developing situation also continues.

In that regard, I spoke this afternoon by phone with Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi. This followed my calls with counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt in recent days.

During the call, I expressed grave concern at the developments overnight, strongly urged restraint and shared the view that it was not in the interests of the Iranian people or the Middle East as a region for hostilities to escalate.

I stressed the importance of Iran engaging in formal processes to de-escalate and said there is eagerness on the part of the EU and the E3 countries to be helpful in relation to these processes and to remain engaged in dialogue at this key time.

Ireland's perspective on this matter comes from our long track record of support for nuclear disarmament, our recent role on the UN Security Council dealing with the Iran file and the strong belief that concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme should be addressed through dialogue.

The call was useful and important and I will meet my EU counterparts in Brussels tomorrow to discuss the evolving situation. Our work to encourage dialogue, diplomacy and deescalation will continue.