Bahrain gov. refuses to evacuate its pilgrim citizens from Iran

TEHRAN (defapress) – Bahrain's authorities have suspended the flights of the stranded Bahraini pilgrims in Iran after the outbreak of Covid-19 in multiple Iranian cities.

News ID: 80496

Date: 13 March 2020 - 13:00

Travel agencies were informed by official bodies the next flight which was supposed to bring the second batch of the pilgrims was delayed.

This decision was declared following the diagnosis of 77 passengers out of the 165 who were on the first flight, with coronavirus.

Nearly 1,300 Bahrainis were stuck in Iran for more than 2 weeks before Bahrain's decided to start their evacuation.

This is while after the decision to suspend flights between the two countries as a precautionary measure, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Tuesday that the first group of Bahraini citizens who were in Iran due to the suspension of flights returned to their country.

“In line with humanitarian actions, Iran’s Foreign Ministry made efforts to relocate foreign nationals to their respective countries, and as a result of repeated efforts and coordination with the Omani Foreign Ministry, the first group of Bahraini citizens left for their country Tuesday morning,” said Mousavi.

“With special appreciation to the Omani government and its humanitarian approach to cooperation and effort in this humanitarian endeavor, the Islamic Republic of Iran hopes that other Bahraini citizens in Iran will also be able to return to their homeland with the positive engagement of the Bahraini government and the continuation of this process,” he added.

“Currently, about 1300 Bahraini citizens who have come to Iran for pilgrimage and tourism have been forced to stay in Iran for long periods of time due to the Bahraini government's handling of their situation,” Mousavi noted.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman announced Iran’s readiness to cooperate with Bahrain with the aim of returning of these citizens to their country, adding, “Any delay in this regard will be related to the Bahraini government.”

Bahraini authorities have banned the entry of their citizens from Iran to Bahrain. In fact, Some believe that they are evading responsibilities towards their nationals by pursuing this strange and unprecedented policy. However, many countries around the world have returned their nationals from other regions.