Bangkok shifts Tehran embassy to Turkey, opens operations centre

The Thai Foreign Ministry has set up an operation centre in the city of Van in Turkey, to help facilitate evacuations of Thais from Iran who are being impacted by the Middle East war.

The Thai embassy in Iran will temporarily relocate its offices and operations to the centre for safety reasons.

Panidone Pachimsawat, deputy spokesperson for the ministry, said on Thursday that the number of Thai nationals seeking evacuation from Iran has risen to 125, as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies and spreads to neighbouring countries.

The situation in the region remains highly volatile, with reports of new waves of attacks and clashes expanding to several countries.

He said that there have been no reports of Thai nationals injured or killed so far, but the ministry is urging Thais in high-risk areas to leave as soon as possible and to register their locations and contact details with Thai embassies or consulates.

According to the spokesperson, the 125 Thais wishing to leave Iran will be evacuated in two groups overland. The first group of 69 is scheduled to depart today, while the other 56 people will leave on March 10.

The evacuees will travel to the Turkish city of Van, where officials from the Department of Consular Affairs and the Thai embassy in Ankara will receive them and arrange accommodation and meals while they wait for flights back to Thailand in the next two to three days.

Starting March 7, the Thai embassy in Ankara will open a temporary operations centre in Van, in the eastern region of Türkiye, to assist Thai nationals leaving Iran and returning to Thailand. The centre will also serve as a temporary office for the Thai embassy in Tehran.

The embassy in Ankara has also advised Thai nationals, whose flights have been cancelled due to congestion at Istanbul Airport, to contact their airlines for assistance while waiting for new flights.

Travellers whose replacement flights may be delayed beyond their visa validity are advised to consider cancelling their bookings and purchasing new tickets that avoid routes passing through countries that have closed their airspace. Thai nationals can stay in Turkey visa-free for up to 30 days.

Saudi Arabia, Oman and Jordan remain open to international flights, with Saudi Arabia and Oman becoming key air evacuation hubs for people leaving the region.

The Thai embassy in Riyadh is coordinating closely with Thai embassies in neighbouring countries, where the airspace closed, to facilitate cross-border travel for Thais returning home.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Thai embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Thai consulate-general in Dubai are assisting Thai nationals stranded in the country. The Dubai consulate has arranged a special flight to evacuate 125 Thais from the UAE.

Although the UAE’s airspace remains closed, two airlines have partially resumed operations to allow foreign nationals to return home starting Thursday.

Panidone said UAE immigration authorities have also waived overstay fines for travellers affected by the airspace closure since Feb 28