Canada seeks Oman airspace access amid Middle East tensions,no evacuation flights announced

Canada has asked Oman for permission to use its airspace if evacuations become necessary as tensions escalate in the Middle East, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said.

Anand confirmed she spoke with her Omani counterpart, Badr Albusaidi, about securing potential access to Oman’s airspace to help extract Canadians from the region if required. According to federal officials, about 100,000 Canadians are currently in the affected area.

Ottawa has not announced any government-organized repatriation flights. The federal government is advising Canadians to leave the region by commercial means if it is safe to do so, and to register with Global Affairs Canada for updates.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada supports efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program but described the current conflict in the Middle East as another failure of the international order. He said United Nations Security Council resolutions, sanctions and efforts by the International Atomic Energy Agency have not succeeded in curbing Iran’s nuclear threat.

Carney added that the recent military action was undertaken without broader consultation with the United Nations and allies including Canada, and said it is now up to the United States and Israel to justify their actions under international law.

The federal government has previously coordinated evacuation flights during major international crises when commercial options were unavailable. Officials have not set a timeline for any potential operation in the current situation.