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As the Iran war enters its sixth day, Taiwan has condemned Tehran for what it described as indiscriminate attacks on Middle East countries.
The Middle East conflict started on February 28, after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Tehran immediately retaliated by bombing the US targets in the region.
Deputy Foreign Minister François Wu, issued the condemnation yesterday while saying that the US and Israel were hoping to eliminate terrorism from the region.
He explained that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) stance is “that as an ally of the US and Israel, we also condemn Iran’s indiscriminate attacks on other countries.
“We hope the Iranian people can also enjoy freedom, democracy and human rights soon,” he said.
Though Taiwan has no official diplomatic ties with the US and Israel, it regards the two countries as very important diplomatic partners.
On the other hand, it has not had diplomatic relations with Tehran since it recognised the People’s Republic of China in 1971.
The US President, Donald Trump, justified the assault on Iran, saying he had ordered the campaign because he had a feeling Iran would attack after negotiations over its nuclear programme’s failure.
Iranians have fled the cities and Tehran has become a ghost city, according to reports.
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Meanwhile, Taiwan has said it has no immediate plans to conduct mass evacuations of more than 3,000 Taiwanese nationals in the region.
Asked whether Taiwan was considering getting its nationals out of the region, Wu said there were no such plans, given the massive flight cancellations in the region following the weekend’s attacks.
There are currently around 3,000 long-term Taiwanese residents in Middle East countries, as well as hundreds stranded there due to flight disruptions, according to Wu.
Though no evacuations are planned, Wu said that for those among them who wish to leave immediately, Taiwan’s representative offices in the region will assist them.
Taiwan’s representative offices in the region have maintained contact with Taiwanese nationals there and all have reported being safe, the minister said, adding that the Israeli government has also told Taipei that it would ensure that Taiwanese nationals there remain unharmed during the ongoing conflict.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday afternoon, MOFA raised its travel warnings for two additional Middle Eastern countries affected by the ongoing regional conflict: Egypt and Jordan from yellow to orange, the second-highest level, warning citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to those destinations.
The travel alerts for Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were raised to orange late Sunday.
The travel alerts for Israel and Iran were also raised to the highest level after Israel and the US launched airstrikes on Iran on Saturday.
Under MOFA’s four-tier travel alert system, advisories are classified as grey, yellow, orange and red, in ascending order of risk.
