MANILA, June 21 -- All Filipino diplomats at the Philippine Embassy in Tehran will stay in Iran to continue monitoring and assisting Filipinos, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Saturday.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega shared the update at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City after earlier saying there were plans to include some non-essential personnel in the first batch of Filipinos who will evacuate amid the Israel-Iran conflict.

At present, there are a total of nine diplomats at the embassy, including Philippine Ambassador Robert Manalo.

De Vega quoted Manalo as saying that the Philippine mission cannot pull out "even one" personnel as they are "all essential" staffers to allow continued operatio...