Iran’s charge d’affaires thanks Saudi Arabia for evacuating Iranians from Sudan
Iran’s charge d’affaires in Saudi Arabia arrived at the King Abdullah Air Base in Jeddah on Saturday to express gratitude to the Kingdom for its assistance in evacuating dozens of Iranian nationals from Sudan.
Upon arrival, Hassan Zarangar received a warm welcome from Saudi Maj. Gen pilot Ahmed Al-Debais, commander of the Western Region, and Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al-Zahrani, commander of the air base.
In an interview with Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV, Zarangar thanked the Saudi leadership and expressed the Iranian government’s appreciation for their efforts to evacuate Iranian nationals from Sudan.
The Saudi foreign ministry said that more than 1,800 foreign nationals, including Iranians, were evacuated from Sudan on the Saudi ship “Amana” on Saturday. Later that same day, an Iranian airplane arrived at the King Abdullah Air Base to transport 65 evacuees from Saudi Arabia to Iran.
The Saudi foreign ministry said that the Kingdom has evacuated 5,197 people from Sudan, including 184 Saudis, since the crisis began.
Following clashes that erupted on April 15 between forces loyal to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and those of his rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), foreign countries have been scrambling to extract thousands of their citizens from Khartoum.
The violence has resulted in more than 500 deaths and displaced thousands of people.