London, United Kingdom. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said officials are looking at all options, including evacuation, to help British citizens in Gulf countries that are being targeted by Iran. She said rapid deployment teams have been sent to the region and urged nationals to follow local advice and shelter in place.
Evacuation options and support systems
Cooper said there are an estimated 300,000 British citizens living in Gulf countries, and 102,000 people in the region have registered their presence with the UK government since attacks began on Saturday.
Asked whether she was planning an evacuation, Cooper said officials were setting up “support systems” and that her team was working on “every possible option.” She told Sky News officials had to recognise the scale of the situation and that strikes were still under way.
Cooper said she wanted airspace to be reopened and that, for now, British nationals should follow local advice and shelter in place.
Rapid deployment teams and travel industry coordination
Cooper said her department had sent rapid deployment teams to the region to work with the travel industry.
Cyprus base incident
Cooper confirmed an unmanned Iranian drone struck the runway of a British Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus, without providing further details.
Disruption to regional air travel
Global air travel was heavily disrupted over the weekend as major Middle Eastern airports, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, remained closed after U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded.
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