The Department of Foreign Affairs has handled almost 2,500 calls to its crisis centre from Irish citizens across the Middle East since the start of the Iran war. A briefing document from the Department of Foreign Affairs showed that more than 2,450 Irish citizens across the Middle East were provided with direct consular assistance. It also said the Department handled 171 inbound calls to its consular crisis centre during the first weekend of the crisis, while the consular duty officer received 48 calls over the same period. Earlier this week, Qatar Airways have announced it will resume its flights between Doha and Dublin from Friday, March 20. It comes as two Government charter flights have operated from the war-torn Middle East to Dublin.

Source: Irish Independent March 20, 2026 13:19 UTC