Latest news with #Turkmenistan
Washington Post
34 minutes ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Hundreds of U.S. citizens have fled Iran amid Israeli strikes
Hundreds of U.S. citizens have left Iran through its land borders since the start of Israel's deadly assault on the country last week, according to a State Department cable circulated to diplomats Friday and obtained by The Washington Post. The cable marks a rare, if private, admission by the U.S. government that large numbers of Americans are in harm's way as President Donald Trump ruminates whether the United States will join Israel's campaign to eradicate Iran's nuclear program. These citizens are at risk not only from Israeli strikes, which local authorities claim have killed hundreds of civilians, but also from the Iranian regime itself. The cable notes that multiple U.S. citizens trying to flee have encountered 'delays and harassment' from Iranian authorities and that there are a small number of unconfirmed reports of Americans being detained and imprisoned. The cable said U.S. diplomats were tracking these reports closely. Separately, the cable noted that Turkmenistan, which shares a long border with Iran, had not approved more than 100 requests from the Embassy in Ashgabat for U.S. citizens to enter the country. The State Department was now advising U.S. citizens within Iran to find different routes to leave the country, the cable noted. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the cable. A spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce, told reporters Friday that the Trump administration does not intend to offer 'direct U.S.-government-assisted departure' from Iran. Americans seeking departure 'should take advantage of existing means to leave,' she said. Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York and the Turkmenistan Embassy in Washington also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is not known how many U.S. citizens are in Iran, but in the past U.S. officials have estimated the number is in the thousands. Bruce told reporters that 25,000 people have received information and support from the State Department amid hostilities in Israel, the West Bank and Iran. The Iranian government has a history of targeting foreign citizens and dual nationals, arresting them under flimsy pretenses to use them as bargaining chips in diplomatic negotiations, according to human rights groups. There's a real danger that dual nationals could end up in the 'crosshairs of the conflict,' said Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 'There's a real risk they might be stopped, questioned and then detained on bogus charges like espionage. American dual nationals are the most vulnerable, given the looming possibility of the U.S. entering the war,' said Dagres. The United States has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980, the year after a revolution there led to the installation of a theocratic regime and a dramatic 444-day-long hostage crisis at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Switzerland has acted as a protecting power for the United States in Iran, with the Swiss Embassy in Tehran hosting a U.S. Interests Section that informally represents Washington in Iran. The Swiss government announced Friday that it was temporarily closing its embassy due to the conflict, stating that the Ambassador Nadine Olivieri Lozano had been in the last group of diplomats to leave the country and would arrive in Azerbaijan on Friday evening. 'Switzerland will continue to act as an intermediary transmitting communications between the US and Iran as and when both parties consider appropriate,' the Swiss government said in a statement. In a public travel advisory updated on Friday, the State Department said that U.S. citizens should 'not travel to Iran for any reason and should depart Iran immediately if they are there.' Those unable to leave 'should be prepared to shelter in place for extended periods.' The fate of hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens across the Middle East has been put at risk since June 13, when the Israeli government launched a widespread attack on the Iranian state, targeting senior government and military officials, along with the country's nuclear scientists, in what it said was a means to cripple the country's nuclear program. Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in response. It has threatened to target U.S. interests in the Middle East if the United States joins the conflict on Israel's side. The United States has said it is still seeking a diplomatic end to the conflict. However, Trump has given the talks a timeline of up to two weeks to produce a breakthrough deemed suitable to the American leader. In Israel, where an estimated 700,000 U.S. citizens live, the local embassy has taken on a prominent role in helping Americans flee the country. 'We're working to get military, commercial, charter flights & cruise ships' for evacuations, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee wrote on social media Thursday. 'If you're offered a seat, take it.' According to an internal email sent to staff on Friday, the State Department is seeking volunteers to greet embassy colleagues returning from Israel and Iraq to Dulles Airport outside D.C. over the next few days, noting that the first chartered flight of returnees from the region had arrived at 4 a.m. Thursday. Though the flights were primarily for embassy staff, the email noted that other U.S. citizens may be on separate flights. The next chartered flight, traveling from Israel, was expected Friday evening and may include up to 38 pets, the email said.
Forbes
a day ago
- Politics
- Forbes
After 54 Years, Fires In The ‘Gates To Hell' May Finally Burn Out
The burning gas crater in Turkmenistan dubbed "Gateway to Hell.' During an international conference on hydrocarbon resources in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat earlier this month, Irina Luryeva, head of the scientific research institute in the state-owned energy company Turkmengaz, announced that the fires feed by natural methane seepage in the 'Gateway to Hell' are slowly burning out. "Whereas before a huge glow from the blaze was visible from several kilometers away, hence the name 'Gateway to Hell', today only a faint source of combustion remains," says Luryeva in a quote published by In January 2022, former president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow appeared on state television announcing plans to 'close' the "Gates of Hell," a giant natural gas crater in the middle of the Karakum Desert, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) north of Ashgabat, citing pollution, health concerns and a loss of 'valuable natural resources.' The crater was (supposedly, as there are no official documents available) created in 1971 during a Soviet drilling accident that hit a gas cavern, causing the rig to fall in and the ground to collapse around it. The Soviets decided to burn off the gas by setting it on fire to prevent the dangerous fumes from spreading. Unfortunately, tapping into a vast natural reservoir of flammable methane gas, the pit has been burning since then, even growing in size over time. The now 70 meters (229 feet) wide and 20 meters (65 feet) deep crater was a popular tourist attraction, especially at night time. Officially named the "Shining of Karakum," the crater is also known as the Darvaza Crater, after the nearby village of Darvaza, and online as the 'Door to Hell', 'Gateway to Hell' or 'Gates of Hell' thanks to the boiling mud and roaring, red burning flames covering the crater floor. According to Luryeva, numerous wells have been drilled around the crater to release the methane in a controlled way and cut off the the flame's fuel supply. Turkmenistan possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas in its underground, exporting gas to countries such as Pakistan, China, India, Iran and Russia.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
‘Suicidal' Ayatollah tells Trump ‘the battle begins' in shock goading message from bunker lair with US on brink of blitz
China sends mystery transport planes into Iran China has sent mysterious planes into Iran. On Friday, a cargo plane took off, then the next day, another plane departed from a city on the coast. A plane also departed from Shanghai on Monday - marking three flights in the space of three days. Data has shown that each flight flew westward along northern China before crossing into Kazakhstan then heading south into Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. But the plane's then fall off the radar as they edge closer to Iran. To add more suspicion, flight plans suggested a final destination of Luxembourg - but the aircraft appeared to have not even flown near Europe. The type of plane used - Boeing 747 freighters - are often used for transporting military equipment and weapons, according to aviation experts.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Chinese Travel Thousands of Miles to Flee Iran Overland
The first Chinese evacuees from Iran have started sharing on social media their desperate efforts to reach the country's borders and the safety of Turkmenistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as the Israel-Iran air war entered a sixth day. Several thousand Chinese nationals are thought to reside in oil-rich Iran, according to state media reports, highlighting Beijing's efforts to deepen strategic and commercial ties with Iran over the past two decades. "My heart was pounding but amid the haze of war, everything became clear: I packed my bags and tried to evacuate to the embassy," wrote a Chinese travel blogger under the alias Shuishui Crusoe, a nod to Daniel Defoe's fictional castaway, Robinson Crusoe. The travel blogger had decided to leave after sitting through Israel's overnight bombings last Friday when the conflict began, even as the embassy advised her to stay put. Emboldened by news of fellow citizens who made it across to Armenia, 750 km (500 miles) from the Iranian capital Tehran, she chose the same route, arriving by bus in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Monday, a day before China's embassy officially urged its citizens to leave Iran. China started evacuating its citizens from Tehran to Turkmenistan by bus on Tuesday, a distance of 1,150 km, state-run China News Service reported Wednesday. Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said Beijing had not received any reports of Chinese casualties. "Seven hundred and ninety-one Chinese nationals have already been relocated from Iran to safe areas, and over 1,000 more are in the process of being evacuated," he told a regular news conference. While the embassy emphasized evacuation, some other Chinese netizens still in Iran shared video compilations showing an orderly scenario of well-stocked grocery shops and fruit stalls, with only a couple of clips of large purchases of bottled water. Most Chinese in Iran are engineers who moved there to work for Chinese firms that have invested just under $5 billion in the country since 2007 - primarily in its oil sector - according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank. If the regime in Tehran is severely weakened or replaced, Beijing loses a key diplomatic foothold in a region long dominated by the US, but vital to President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road initiative and its aim to link the world's second-largest economy with Europe and the Gulf. China, the world's leading energy consumer, has also benefited from importing heavily discounted Iranian crude, despite Washington's sanctions aimed at curbing the trade.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Chinese flee Iran overland by bus to safety of neighbouring countries
BEIJING, June 18 (Reuters) - The first Chinese evacuees from Iran have started sharing on social media their desperate efforts to reach the Islamic Republic's borders and the safety of Turkmenistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as the Israel-Iran air war entered a sixth day. Several thousand Chinese nationals are thought to reside in oil-rich Iran, according to state media reports highlighting Beijing's efforts to deepen strategic and commercial ties with the theocratic regime over the past two decades. "My heart was pounding but amid the haze of war, everything became clear: I packed my bags and tried to evacuate to the embassy," wrote a Chinese travel blogger under the alias Shuishui Crusoe, a nod to Daniel Defoe's fictional castaway, Robinson Crusoe. The travel blogger had decided to leave after sitting through Israel's overnight bombings last Friday when the conflict began, even as the embassy told advised her to stay put. Emboldened by news of fellow citizens who made it across to Armenia, 750 km (466 miles) from the Iranian capital Tehran, she chose the same route, arriving by bus in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Monday, a day before China's embassy officially urged citizens to leave Iran. China started evacuating its citizens from Tehran to Turkmenistan by overland bus on Tuesday, a distance of 1,150 km (714.58 miles), state-run China News Service reported Wednesday. More than 700 Chinese nationals have been transferred to places of safety and more than 1,000 more are in the process of being transferred, China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. While the embassy emphasised evacuation, some other Chinese netizens still in Iran shared video compilations showing an orderly scenario of well-stocked grocery shops and fruit stalls, with only a couple of clips of large purchases of bottled water. Most Chinese in Iran are engineers who moved there to work for Chinese firms that have invested just under $5 billion in the country since 2007 - primarily in its oil sector - according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank. If the regime in Tehran is severely weakened or replaced, Beijing loses a key diplomatic foothold in a region long dominated by the U.S. but vital to President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road initiative and its aim to link the world's second-largest economy with Europe and the Gulf. China, the world's leading energy consumer, has also benefited from importing heavily discounted Iranian crude, despite Washington's sanctions aimed at curbing the trade.
