Foreigners flee Iran to Azerbaijan, Armenia

More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel began striking the country last week, government officials in Baku and Yerevan said on Tuesday.

- 

The Caucasus countries border Iran's northwest, with the closest crossing into Azerbaijan around 500 kilometres from Tehran by road.

"Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan," a government source told reporters on Tuesday.

The evacuees, who crossed the border via the Astara checkpoint on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transported to Baku airport and "flown to their home countries on international flights," the source said.