JERSEY’s supply chains “remain stable” despite rising tensions in the Middle East, according to the Chief Minister.
After a warning from ATF fuels earlier this week, Deputy Lyndon Farnham said in a statement this afternoon that the government was monitoring potential economic impacts, including inflationary pressures, but there was currently no indication of disruption to the availability of goods or essential products.
“We hear sirens all night and day. We are not going outside”
A JERSEY teacher living and working in Bahrain told the JEP about how she had been forced to flee her home after missiles struck buildings next door, following a sharp escalation in hostilities across the Middle East.
“Government officials remain in contact with partners across the Island, including the Jersey Consumer Council, who continue to track local market conditions and pricing trends,” he added.
It comes little more than a week after Iran launched a series of retaliatory missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and several Gulf cities after its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who had ruled the country since 1989, was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike.
Explosions were being reported in Doha, Dubai and Manama last weekend, while multiple countries – including Israel, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain – closed their airspace, leaving hundreds of thousands of travellers stranded or diverted.
One Jersey-raised and -educated teacher living in Bahrain, who the JEP agreed not to name for safety reasons, said she was forced to flee her home when the two buildings next door got hit by missiles.
Jersey has significant ties to the Middle East through its finance industry, with many well-established relationships between Jersey-based businesses and those in the region. Jersey Finance has a presence in the United Arab Emirates, in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
A personal trainer who moved with his family to Dubai six months ago said that the weekend was “very scary” as Iranian missiles and drones targeted the emirate, but its strong defences have left him reassured and feeling safe.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, an Islander travelling through the Middle East told the JEP that she had heard warplanes and missiles being intercepted – and had even stumbled upon the charred remains of an Iranian missile that was brought down outside the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Deputy Farnham said the government’s “thoughts remain with all those affected by the recent events in the Middle East”.
Repeating earlier advice, he said: “Islanders experiencing travel disruption are strongly encouraged to check the latest updates on the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) website, which remains the most reliable and up-to-date source of official travel advice.
“Anyone who has concerns about travel to or from the region, or who is worried about family, friends or colleagues there, may also contact Jersey’s External Relations Department at ExternalRelations@gov.je. This is intended to provide additional reassurance and support, but does not replace the FCDO’s role as the primary source of travel advice.”
