Russia warns citizens against visiting Iran and Israel

The Foreign Ministry in Moscow issued the advisory following Israeli airstrikes on Friday

Russia's Foreign Ministry has advised against traveling to Israel and Iran, following the Israeli airstrikes carried out on Friday. Russian citizens currently in the Jewish state have also been advised to leave.

The Israeli military conducted a series of airstrikes on numerous targets – both military and nuclear sites – across Iran early on Friday. The Iranian authorities have confirmed that the attacks killed Major General Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.

Several media outlets have claimed that several other high-ranking Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists were also killed

In an advisory published later in the day, the Foreign Ministry urged “Russian citizens to refrain from visiting Israel and Iran – until the situation stabilizes.” The diplomats also called on compatriots to “immediately leave dangerous areas, if possible.”

Earlier in the day, the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv issued a similar advisory, urging Russian nationals “who have the opportunity, to leave Israel.”

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Russia’s civil aviation authority ordered the country’s airlines to halt all flights to and from Israel and Iran, as well as to avoid both countries’ respective airspaces until further notice, which is tentatively expected on June 26.

Following the Israeli airstrikes against Iran, a number of global airlines, including Air France KLM, Ryanair, Wizz, Air India, Emirates and Lufthansa, have similarly begun avoiding the region and diverting flights to skirt the airspaces of Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Iran, as attested by FlightRadar data.

According to the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), some 650 flights have been canceled due to the escalation.