By Ben Kroll
TEL AVIV (Ha’aretz) — Israel’s National Security Council issued on Sunday, March 8, an updated travel advisory for the three largest countries in the Caucasus region – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia – over fears that Iran will target Israelis amid the ongoing war.
In Sunday’s update, which is identical for all three countries, the council warned that since the start of the war with Tehran, it has “identified an increasing and expanding motivation” in Iranian efforts to carry out terror attacks against Israeli targets across the world. The statement says that those efforts are focused on the countries surrounding Iran.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan share a border with Iran, while Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, is only 215 kilometers (roughly 130 miles) from the Iranian border.
“In light of the fear of various terror infrastructure, there is a potentially ongoing threat to harm Israelis and Jews staying in the country,” the advisory for all three countries reads. The council recommends avoiding all non-essential travel at this time.
For those choosing to forgo the travel advisory, the council recommended, among other things, to “avoid revealing your [Israeli] identity to strangers.” It stressed that travelers should “refrain from sharing their itinerary on social media or publishing pictures from their trip in real time.”
