Russia advises against travel to Middle East

Russia on Thursday advised against travel to the Middle East and German airline Lufthansa extended a suspension of its flights to Tehran, as the region was kept on edge by Iran’s threat to retaliate against Israel for an attack in Syria, reports Reuters.

Iran has vowed revenge for the 1 April airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus which killed a top Iranian general and six other Iranian military officers. Israel has not declared its responsibility for the attack.

According to Reuters, Russia’s foreign ministry told citizens they should refrain from travelling to the Middle East, especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

“We strongly recommend that Russian citizens refrain from traveling to the region, especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, except in cases of extreme necessity,” it said.

“The tense situation in the Middle East region persists,” said the foreign ministry, which first issued such travel advice in October when it urged Russians not to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories after Hamas attacked Israel.