June 24, 2024: Tánaiste Simon Harris in Dublin.RollingNews.ie

Ireland's Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris confirmed today, Tuesday, June 24, that a further two groups of Irish citizens have been assisted in leaving Israel and Iran amid the ongoing security crisis in the Middle East.

Three citizens were assisted in leaving Israel this afternoon with the support of the Netherlands, the Tánaiste said.

Separately, two citizens were also supported in leaving Iran this morning by the Irish Embassy in Ankara.

Yesterday, the Tánaiste announced that three Irish citizens and their dependents, including two children, had been assisted to depart Iran overnight, and that 15 Irish citizens and their dependents were evacuated from Israel on Sunday.

On Tuesday, the Tánaiste also convened a meeting of the Department’s Heads of Mission in the Middle East region, where he was briefed on the ongoing consular work to support citizens and their families.

Speaking following the meeting, the Tánaiste said: “The intensive work across our Embassies and Missions in the Middle East has continued today, with a further five Irish citizens assisted in leaving Israel and Iran.

"I am grateful to our Embassy staff and our European partners for all the assistance provided.

"I encourage Irish citizens in the region to continue to monitor developments closely, to follow the advice of local authorities and to register with their Embassy where they have not already done so.”

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Ireland's travel advice for the Middle East

On Friday, June 19, Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs updated its travel advice for Israel and the Occupied Territories to 'do not travel.'

Ireland's DFA had already had a 'do not travel' advisory in place for Iran.

On Monday, after the Iranian missile strikes near Doha, the capital of Qatar, the DFA updated its security status for both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to "high degree of caution."

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"They don’t know what the f--k they’re doing"

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump slammed both Israel and Iran on Tuesday for breaking the ceasefire that he said on Monday night that both had agreed to.

"We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f--k they’re doing," Trump told reporters on Tuesday.