Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Mościcka-Dendys told reporters the group left Tehran by road, crossed into Azerbaijan and boarded a pre-booked commercial flight from Baku that touched down in Poland shortly after 06:00 a.m. local time. One person chose to remain in Baku, she added.
The ministry said all evacuees had registered in its “Odyseusz” travel-crisis database and requested assistance after last week’s Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites triggered reciprocal missile barrages.
A Polish woman permanently residing in Iran told public broadcaster Polish Radio that she and her daughter had decided to leave the country for safety reasons.
She said she was disappointed with the evacuation because, despite assurances that there would be no additional costs, she had to pay for the visas and plane tickets from Baku to Poland herself.
Another 65 people are also scheduled to be evacuated from Israel on Thursday — they will be Polish citizens only. A government military plane will be used to evacuate them.
“Some are elderly or in poor health and could not cope with the longer Egypt route,” Mościcka-Dendys said, declining to give a departure time for security reasons.
On Wednesday, a charter jet organized under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism brought 154 evacuees – 130 Poles and 24 citizens of four other EU countries – from Egypt to Warsaw after an overnight convoy from Tel Aviv.
Poland has also withdrawn non-essential embassy staff from Tehran and says further flights will be arranged if needed as both Iran and Israel warn of additional strikes despite international calls for de-escalation.
The fighting has killed at least 24 people in Israel and more than 600 in Iran, according to official tallies on both sides, and forced airlines to suspend most flights over the region.
(jh)
Source: PAP, IAR