Taiwan raises travel alerts for Middle East countries affected by Iran conflict

Taipei, March 2 (CNA)Taiwan's government has raised its travel warnings for several Middle Eastern countries affected by the ongoing regional conflict, following airstrikes by the United States and Israel on Iran over the weekend.

The travel alerts for Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar were raised late Sunday from yellow to orange -- the second-highest level -- warning citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to those destinations, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Under MOFA's four-tier travel alert system, advisories are classified as gray, yellow, orange, and red, in ascending order of risk.

MOFA had already raised the travel alert for Israel and Iran to the highest level after Israel and the United States launched airstrikes on Iran on Saturday.

In case of emergency, Taiwanese nationals in the Middle East can call the nearest Taiwanese representative office for assistance or ask their families in Taiwan to contact MOFA's 24/7 toll-free emergency hotline at +886-800-085-095, the ministry said.

As of Monday, no official requests had been made by Taiwanese nationals in the Middle East seeking government assistance for evacuation, MOFA told CNA. The ministry said it has made contact with approximately 3,000 Taiwanese nationals in the Middle East, and they are all safe.

MOFA also said that consular assistance to overseas Taiwanese should not be used as a "political tool," referring to a statement by China's embassy in Israel early Sunday that it would evacuate all Chinese nationals, as well as Taiwanese who hold travel permits for entry to China, from Israel amid the escalating conflict with Iran.

The Taiwan government currently has no immediate plans to evacuate Taiwanese in Middle Eastern countries, given that Iran's retaliation has been focused on U.S. military sites in the region rather than on civilians, MOFA said.

Conflict has broken out in the Middle East in the wake of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, beginning Saturday, after weeks of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, who cited Iran's nuclear capabilities.

The airstrikes killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior leaders Saturday morning, and resulted in hundreds of other casualties, according to Iranian state media and NGOs.

In response, multiple Arab states hosting U.S. military assets were targeted by Iran.

Trump has suggested the conflict with Iran could continue for the next four weeks, according to international media.