The Dutch government has said it is too dangerous to repatriate citizens stranded in the Gulf region following the air strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran.

The foreign affairs ministry said it had received 1,000 requests for information from people in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar who are unable to leave because flights have been cancelled.

KLM has cancelled all flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam, the airline’s only Middle Eastern destinations, until Thursday at least. A spokesman said: “We are monitoring the situation in the Middle East closely.”

Foreign minister Tom Berendsen said there was currently no safe way to evacuate people who are unable to leave of their own accord. “The airspace is closed,” he said. “If you’re going to bring people home, you want to be able to do it safely.”

The Dutch foreign ministry’s latest information in English is available here.

Berendsen added that the Dutch government “understood” the US and Israel’s decision to attack Iran, but it was important to “restore stability to the region” as soon as possible and work towards “diplomatic solutions”.

“We’ve seen the attacks on Iran and as a cabinet we can understand them, given the huge risk that the Iranian regime poses, not just the murder of its own citizens but also the wider risk for the region and beyond,” he said.

Asked if the attacks were consistent with international law, he said there were “legitimate questions” for the US and Israel to answer, but added: “International law is not the only context that should be used to assess this situation.

“The threat coming from the Iranian regime is also an intrinsic part of how this government views it.”