Staff from the Embassy of Serbia in Iran are en route to Baku after escalating regional hostilities disrupted air traffic and heightened security risks, President Aleksandar Vučić said on Sunday.
Vučić told TV Una that Serbian diplomats had left Iran by land and were heading toward Azerbaijan’s capital as fighting in the region intensified, adding that earlier suggestions to evacuate personnel via Oman had been reconsidered after fresh strikes were reported there.
“Our staff (from the embassy) are on their way to Baku,” Vučić said. “Imagine if we had sent buses and someone hit the convoy. Then they would have asked why we did that.”
He added that Serbia would organize onward transport once conditions allowed, including potential evacuation flights by Air Serbia when regional airspace reopens.
Military build-up and defence overhaul
Speaking separately, Vučić said Serbia would continue acquiring weapons systems from multiple countries to build what he described as a “multi-layered apparatus” capable of defending the country and responding if attacked.
“We will first take care of defence, to protect ourselves, and then we will know how to respond,” he said.
Vučić said he had discussed military matters overnight with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, including the performance of Emirati air defences during what he described as an Iranian attack on the Gulf state.
“He told me: when all this ends, send your specialists so they can see everything,” Vučić said, adding that Serbian experts would study how cruise missiles and ballistic projectiles are intercepted and how layered air defence systems are organized.
Lessons from Israel’s air defence
Vučić also pointed to Israel’s interception rates during recent exchanges with Iran, saying Israeli forces had reduced the impact of large-scale missile launches to minimal damage.
He cited Israel’s use of systems such as the Barak surface-to-air missile system and unmanned platforms including Hermes drones and SkyStriker loitering munitions, some of which Serbia has acquired or is in the process of procuring.
“Barak is an extremely important system, very expensive but very important,” Vučić said, adding that Israel had reached what he described as the “peak” of its defensive configuration.
Serbia previously lacked the capability to counter cruise and ballistic missile threats, he said, but has since introduced systems capable of intercepting such projectiles and plans to “drastically” strengthen its air defences.
According to Vučić, certain units have already been deployed in Kragujevac, Niš and Novi Sad, with the largest concentration in and around Belgrade, which he described as the country’s most important area to protect.
Artificial intelligence in defence and beyond
Vučić said Serbia must also accelerate the use of artificial intelligence in both civilian and military sectors, including pharmaceuticals and defence applications.
“We must form special units responsible for the use of artificial intelligence, for combining software and hardware – robotics and everything else,” he said.
Balancing global ties
Commenting on the broader geopolitical environment, Vučić said Serbia’s position was “difficult” but aimed at preserving peace and freedom, reiterating that Belgrade would pursue an independent foreign policy.
“I am a Serb who protects the interests of Serbia and who will not flatter Washington, Brussels or Moscow, or anyone else in the world, but will present the positions of a sovereign and independent country,” he said.
Regional tensions have escalated sharply in recent days following exchanges of missile and drone strikes across the Middle East, prompting several countries to review diplomatic security arrangements and evacuation plans.