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BERLIN: Germany’s foreign minister appealed to Iran’s leaders to make credible assurances that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon and to show it is willing to find a negotiated solution as fears mount of further military escalation between Iran and Israel.

“We are still ready to negotiate a solution. However, Iran must act urgently ... it is never too late to come to the negotiating table if one comes with sincere intentions,” Johann Wadephul said at a news conference with his Jordanian counterpart on Wednesday.

Wadephul said Israel’s fear that Iran would develop nuclear weapons was justified and it had a right to self-defense.

“The Israeli decision to do something against this threat is comprehensible,” he said, adding civilian deaths on both sides were regrettable after air attacks between Iran and Israel.

His ministry was arranging special flights later on Wednesday and on Thursday to each repatriate about 180 German citizens via Amman, he said.

Wadephul also said Germany had agreed to create an economic council with Syria to improve cooperation and boost prosperity and stability there.

MANILA: The Philippines is struggling to evacuate its nationals from Iran as exit routes are difficult to secure, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday, as an increasing number of them are seeking to leave amid growing destruction from Israeli bombardment.

The Philippine embassy in Tehran estimating that some 700 Filipinos live in Iran. Most are married to Iranian nationals and initially were not willing to leave when the attacks started last week.

“But now, some are saying they’re scared, so they’re asking for help to get out. The problem we’re facing in evacuating them is that — because of the war — many airports are closed,” Marcos told reporters in Quezon City.

“We’re looking for a route through which we can get them out.”

Following Israeli attacks, Iran has suspended flights at major airports. Neighboring countries such as Iraq and Jordan have also closed their airspace, making air evacuations nearly impossible

Some countries are evacuating citizens by land via Azerbaijan and Turkiye, but these journeys are long due to distance, heavy traffic, fuel shortages and potential Israeli strikes.

The Philippine government is also planning to pull non-essential personnel out of the embassy in Tehran and raise the alert level for nationals in Iran to “voluntary repatriation phase,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega told the Philippine News Agency.

“We cannot raise it to mandatory because most of the Filipinos there won’t go home anyway, they have Iranian families there,” he said.

Israeli attacks on Iran began on Friday, when Tel Aviv hit more than a dozen Iranian sites — including key nuclear facilities and the residences of military leaders and scientists — claiming it was aiming to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Daily attacks have been ongoing for the past six days after Iran retaliated with ballistic missile strikes against Israel.

The Israeli military has intensified its bombing of civilian targets, hitting Iran’s state broadcaster in Tehran and a hospital in Kermanshah. On Wednesday alone, it said it had hit 40 sites across the country.

According to the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, at least 224 people have been killed and 1,481 wounded in the attacks since Friday; however, various media outlets report casualty numbers could be at least twice that many.