• Sharp rise in demand pushing private jet prices higher.
• Wealthy elites are fleeing to Saudi Arabia from Gulf countries.
• Riyadh eases visa rules amid ongoing Middle East crisis.
  

Private jet prices to evacuate Gulf countries are soaring after Middle East conflict escalates following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the joint strikes launched by the US and Israel.

The Middle East conflict expanded with no end in sight, with Israel attacking Iran and Tehran firing missiles and drones at the “US interests and bases” across the Gulf states.

Global airlines cancelled flights across the Middle East after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, driving private jet rental prices to record highs amid the travel chaos.

In view of the prevailing situation, wealthy elites are fleeing to Saudi Arabia to evacuate the Gulf, as Iranian missiles and drones rained over Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, and Bahrain —previously perceived to be safe countries.

Riyadh is becoming a key exit route for those looking for a safe route out of the Middle East, as the airport in the Saudi Arabia capital is one of few still operating.

Private security companies are reportedly booking fleets of SUVs to transport people on the 10-hour drive to Riyadh from Dubai and then are chartering private planes.

Among those being evacuated are senior executives at global finance firms and high-net-worth individuals who were holidaying in the region or were there on a business trip.

The sharp rise in demand for an emergency exit is pushing prices for SUVs and private jets up, as it has been reported that private jets from Riyadh to Europe now cost up to $350,000 (£260,000), The Daily Mail reported.

Saudi Arabia is seemingly the safest country to currently get out of the Middle East, after routes out of Oman were closed following Iran’s strike on the port and an oil tanker in the country on Sunday.

Riyadh hosts one major international airport – the King Khalid International Airport, about 35km from the city centre. The airport has five passenger terminals and usually flies to Europe, America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Visa rules have also loosened in Saudi Arabia, meaning many nationalities can get a visa upon arrival rather than in advance, making it appealing as an emergency exit route for many.

Saudi’s defence ministry confirmed two drones were intercepted and destroyed earlier today.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman says confronting US-Israeli threats leaves the country no option but military retaliation, while stressing it has no issue with the American people.

In an interview with the US public radio (NPR) published on Sunday, Esmaeil Baghaei discussed the country’s positions on the current developments following the recent US-Israeli aggression.

“This is an unjust war imposed on our nation, and we have no other choice other than fighting against this injustice,” he said.

He emphasized that these military actions are unwarranted and unprovoked, and pointed out they arrived while the US and Iran were making progress in diplomatic negotiations over nuclear issues.

Baghaei stated that the conflict is the United States administration’s preferred war.

He noted that according to the Omani mediator’s remarks on Friday, a deal was close, and Iran was slated to meet the American delegation in Vienna the previous day to discuss technical details—emphasizing that Iran did not initiate the war.

He referred to the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, saying, “he was not only a political leader. He was also a high-ranking religious jurist with tens of millions of followers, even outside Iran, across the region.”

In response to a question on who is leading the country now, the Iranian diplomat explained that an interim council now governs Iran, composed of the head of the judiciary, the president, and a member of the council of experts, which will be responsible for electing a new leader.

Responding to a question about whether Iran’s leadership can withstand aggressive US sanctions, President Trump’s calls for regime change, Israeli pressure and domestic opposition, Baghaei said a foreign power cannot dictate changes to a nation’s system of governance.

He added that Iranians have historically united against foreign aggression and domination, fighting to protect their freedom, independence, dignity and sovereignty.

Reacting to the death of at least three Americans, Baghaei said “I have said many times that we have no problem with the American people. And we believe that this is not their war.”

Iranian Armed Forces have shot down an advanced US F-15 fighter jet near the border with Kuwait – the first downing of an American fighter jet in the past 27 years.

“An F-15 fighter jet [belonging] to the intruding US army which intended to attack the country has been targeted by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Air Defense and brought down,” Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Air Defense Base said in a statement on Monday.

It added that the jet’s debris has been crashed in Kuwaiti soil.

Kuwait’s Defense Ministry on Monday confirmed the jet’s crash with its video footage widely being circulated in global media.

An American F-117 fighter jet was downed by former Yugoslavia during the Kosovo war some 27 years ago.

No American fighter jet has been officially destroyed since then despite significant progress made in airplane technology.

Iranian retaliatory attacks comes amid three days of aggression against the country, which has killed at least 555 people, including more than 145 children in a strike on an elementary school in Hormozgan Province in addition to Iranian officials, according to the Red Crescent Society.

The IRGC and the Army have targeted strategic sites in the Israeli-occupied territories as well as US-operated bases across West Asia, including the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, along with key installations in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their role in supporting aggression against Iran.