On Saturday, the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, hitting targets across the country.
Tehran launched retaliatory strikes at Israel and U.S. bases across the region in Israel, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. 

On Sunday morning,  Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed to have been killed.

While nearly 3,000 Estonian citizens are in the Middle East, more than 1,500 citizens are specifically in the conflict area.

Ministry data shows there are currently 12 Estonian citizens in Israel, 1,527 in the United Arab Emirates, 26 in Qatar, four in Saudi Arabia and one in Bahrain.

"We are talking about thousands of Estonian citizens who have traveled, for example, on vacation during their children's school break," Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said.

"We ask citizens to follow the recommendations of local authorities and the [Estonian] Ministry of Foreign Affairs' channels, and in the event of danger to immediately seek shelter in the nearest building and stay away from windows, doors and open areas," he added.

Tsahkna said the primary task of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to ensure that Estonian citizens are in a safe situation and can return home.

"On our website, there are contacts available so we can note who is staying where. In coordination with other European countries, we can assist people if necessary," he said.

"We are monitoring the escalation of the situation by the hour," the minister stressed.

Several airports have canceled all flights due to airspace closures, and the ministry is asking citizens to monitor flight information on the website of their departure airport or contact their airline.

"To our knowledge, airlines are ready to restore air traffic at the earliest opportunity and bring people home. We are also prepared to organize evacuation flights in cooperation with other countries if the need and opportunity arise," Tsahkna said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is recommending that Estonian citizens not travel to the Middle East region. This includes Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan.

All Estonian citizens in the region to register their short-term stay on the ministry's website at https://reisitargalt.vm.ee/registreeri-reis/. This allows the ministry to send crisis information to citizens if necessary.

If necessary, consular assistance is available around the clock at the emergency phone number +372 5301 9999.

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