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Smoke rises from the site of air strikes in Tehran on Wednesday.ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images
About 3,500 of the 108,000 Canadians registered in the Middle East have now asked the government for help evacuating the region, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a press conference Friday morning.
Ottawa has chartered its first plane to fly 180 Canadians from Dubai to Istanbul on Saturday and has block-booked seats on flights from Lebanon and United Arab Emirates to fly Canadians out in the coming days.
The government has also booked four buses from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, and is looking at the possibility of using boats from Lebanon, although Ms. Anand cautioned that using a seaway is “especially dangerous at this time.”
The United States has been torpedoing the Iranian fleet in the region.
A block-booking on a flight from Dubai to Toronto, leaving Saturday, for 51 Canadians and their immediate family is now sold out.
Ms. Anand said the seats being booked by the government will have to be repaid by people travelling, and that reserved seats that are not used will be offered to other European nations and allies of Canada, such as Australia.
She said consular officials are looking at providing emergency travel documents for Canadians whose passports may have run out, or to expedite the issuing of visas to their family members to accompany them.
The Foreign Affairs Minister is updating members of the Liberal caucus Friday morning on efforts the government is making to help Canadians in the Middle East.
Asked about concerns among some Liberal MPs about the government’s stand on the conflict and failure to keep them updated on the position it is taking, Ms. Anand said she plans to say “the Liberal Party of Canada has always been a party with numerous viewpoints, and we welcome diversity.”
“I have great respect for my caucus colleagues across the board, and very much look forward to hearing their viewpoints,” she said, adding that Canada’s position will be discussed next week when the House of Commons resumes sitting.
“We will continue to engage and ensure that together we’re charting the strongest and the right path for Canada, while keeping Canadians safe throughout the region and ensuring that they can return home through viable and safe means.”
Canada has posted consular officials at the borders in countries neighbouring Iran, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Armenia, to help Canadians who have managed to cross obtain paperwork and help with onward transportation.
