Evacuation Flight Brings 290 Indian Students Home from Conflict-Hit Iran

Under India’s Operation Sindhu late Friday night, a special evacuation flight carrying 290 Indian students stranded in war-torn Iran landed safely in New Delhi. 

This marks a crucial phase of India’s mission to rescue citizens from the conflict zone. According to MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, the special evacuation flight from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan landed in New Delhi at 0300 hrs on 21st June. "With this, so far 517 Indian nationals from Iran have returned home under Operation Sindhu," he added.

Two more chartered evacuation flights, including one from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, are scheduled to arrive on Saturday, continuing the large-scale operation.

Image Source: MEA/FM on X

Iran opened its restricted airspace to facilitate the safe passage of Indian evacuation flights despite ongoing hostilities in the region. 

"We are allowing limited access to ensure the safe evacuation of Indian nationals," confirmed Mohammad Javad Hosseini, deputy chief of mission at the Iranian embassy in Delhi.

Indian authorities have been coordinating closely with Iranian officials to ensure smooth operations. Approximately 10,000 Indians, mainly students, were residing in Iran at the time of the escalation. Many had already been relocated to relatively safer areas like Qom and Mashhad prior to evacuation.

Further flights may be scheduled in the coming days as India intensifies its efforts to bring back all its citizens safely.

The evacuations come amid ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, with US military intervention escalating the crisis. The United Nations has also warned of a possible regional catastrophe if the situation continues to worsen.