African Nations Launch Emergency Evacuation of Nationals in Iran

African nations have begun the evacuation of their nationals from Iran and other Middle Eastern countries following escalating security tensions in the region.

Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan and Uganda have issued emergency preparedness plans for nationals caught in the crossfire and urged citizens to take precautionary measures as the crisis has disrupted several flights to the region.

The move follows a massive joint U.S.-Israel military airstrike on Iran on Saturday, which sparked a wave of retaliatory missile attacks across the Gulf.

Early morning air strikes in Iran on Saturday by the U.S. and Israel reportedly caused the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior members of the regime.

Iran has launched retaliatory missile strikes on Israel and U.S. bases in the region, including Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. These countries host a significant number of Africans living there as workers, students and businesspersons.

Some African nations have also shut their embassies in Iran as they encourage their citizens to register with the nearest diplomatic missions in order to account for their whereabouts.