Bahrain asks its citizens in Iran, Iraq to leave immediately

Manama/Washington — Bahrain warned its citizens on Saturday against travel to Iraq and Iran and asked those already there to return “immediately” for their safety, state news agency BNA said.

The Bahrain Foreign Ministry cited, “unstable regional circumstances, dangerous developments and potential threats,” according to BNA.

Earlier on Saturday Exxon evacuated its foreign staff from an Iraqi oilfield.

The Federal Aviation Administration warned US airlines flying over the Gulf to exercise caution “due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region.”

The advisory, which also covers airspace over the Gulf of Oman, comes amid rising tensions between the US and Iran.

Increased tensions in the region “present an increasing inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification”, said the FAA advisory released late Thursday.

The regulator also warned that aircraft flying in the area could encounter “inadvertent GPS interference and communications jamming, which could occur with little to no warning.”

Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the region against what it claims is an imminent threat from Tehran.

Washington on Wednesday pulled non-emergency staff members from its embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad out of apparent concern about perceived threats from neighboring Iran.

In Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi reiterated the strong relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia and said that current challenges necessitate close coordination in order to confront all threats aimed at regional security and stability.

Sisi asserted Egypt’s solidarity with the government and people of Saudi Arabia against all attempts seeking to undermine the Kingdom’s security and stability during his meeting on Saturday with Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Osama Al-Nugali. — Agencies