BEIRUT: More than 100 Iranians, including some diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut overnight on a Russian plane, a Lebanese official told AFP on Sunday.
The evacuation came after Lebanon on Thursday banned any activity by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps — a main backer of the Lebanese group Hezbollah — and imposed a visa requirement on Iranians entering the country as part of measures to pressure the group.
“A total of 117 Iranians, including diplomats and embassy staff, were evacuated on a Russian plane that left Beirut overnight from Saturday to Sunday,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The official said the Iranian embassy had informed Lebanese authorities beforehand of the evacuation operation, which was carried out via Beirut’s international airport.
The official did not specify the destination of the Russian flight.
The airport — located near the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold that has been pounded by Israeli air strikes since Monday — is operational despite the bombardment, but only Lebanon’s national carrier Middle East Airlines is operating significant numbers of flights.
The body of an Iranian diplomat killed this week, along with those of his wife and three children, were repatriated on the flight, the official added.
Hezbollah, which on Monday drew Lebanon into the war between Iran, Israel and the United States by launching strikes against Israel, is coordinating with Iranian liaison officers, according to a Lebanese security source.
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