Over 300 people have fled Iran via Azerbaijan, say sources

BAKU (Reuters) - A total of 312 people have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan since Saturday, including 101 Azerbaijanis and others from 19 countries including China, Russia and Pakistan, a source close to the government in Baku said on Monday.

The 312 entered Azerbaijan between 8 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on February 28 and 10 a.m. on March 2, amid US and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend, the source said.

Iran and Azerbaijan share a 689-km (428-mile) border, and Iran has a large ethnic Azerbaijani population.

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Russia's embassy in Baku said that about 500 Russian nationals were preparing to evacuate from Iran to Azerbaijan via the Astara crossing on the Caspian Sea, with 39 having crossed by the end of Sunday.

Moscow has advised its citizens to move to safer areas in Israel and Iran and recommended that those in Iran leave via Armenia or Azerbaijan.