Operation Sindhu continues as 517 Indian nationals return from Iran amid rising tensions with Israel
by Utsav RoyThe Central Government has successfully brought back more than 517 Indian citizens from Iran under Operation Sindhu. This mission was initiated in response to the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, aimed at ensuring the safe return of Indian nationals.
Providing an update on the operation, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared information through a post on X, “Operation Sindhu continues. A special evacuation flight from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, landed in New Delhi at 0300 hrs on 21st June, bringing Indians from Iran home. With this, so far 517 Indian nationals from Iran have returned home under Operation Sindhu.”
A special flight carrying 290 Indian nationals evacuated from Iran arrived in New Delhi on Friday.
One of the evacuees, Zaffar Abbas Naqvi, shared that his family remained inside their home following news of an attack on Iran. Eventually, they relocated to Mashhad, but that city too was targeted, leading them to reach out to the Indian government for help.
“Everything was going fine, but one day we heard that Iran had been attacked. We stayed indoors for some time. We then moved to Mashhad. Soon Mashhad came under attack. We then contacted the Indian government. The action was so swift that we cannot express our gratitude in words. I want to thank Modi ji and Yogi ji who made all the arrangements for us…,” ANI quoted Naqvi as saying.
Kulsum, one of the Indian citizens brought back from Iran, described the situation there as deeply concerning and expressed her gratitude to the government for ensuring her safe return to India.
“The situation in Iran is not good. We were very worried. The government helped us a lot and brought us back home safely,” Kulsum said.
On Thursday, 110 Indian students, most of them enrolled at Urmia Medical University, were evacuated from northern Iran. Among them were 90 students from Kashmir. They were first moved to Armenia and later flown to New Delhi.
The confrontation between Israel and Iran reached its ninth day on Saturday. The tensions escalated following Israel’s strike on Iran on June 13, under the operation named “Rising Lion.” In response, Iran launched a massive drone and missile offensive titled ‘Operation True Promise 3’.