Canberra, June 18 -- Nearly 2,000 Australian citizens have registered for assistance to leave the Middle East, according to updated government data.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday that over 1,000 Australian citizens in Israel and another 870 in Iran have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for government assistance to safely leave the region.
Chalmers told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio that the government is working "very closely" with those citizens via DFAT and is closely monitoring developments in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
"Obviously our major focus is on the human cost of this escalating conflict," he said.
"And our focus, in an immediate sense, is working with ...