A few days after launching Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian citizens from conflict zones in Iran and Israel, India successfully flew back two special flights from Iran on Saturday. The first flight from Mashhad landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 4:30 PM, and the second was scheduled to arrive later that night at 11:30 PM. The Indian Embassy in Tehran also confirmed that the evacuation effort includes Sri Lankan and Nepali citizens, following requests from their governments.
Nepal’s Foreign Minister, Arzu Deuba, expressed gratitude to India for helping evacuate some Nepali nationals from Iran, highlighting the strong ties between the two countries.
The evacuation flights are organized with support from the Iranian government, which agreed to relax airspace restrictions to allow these planes to leave amid ongoing tensions between Tehran and Israel.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, by Friday, India had evacuated 517 nationals from Iran, and with the latest flights on Saturday, the total number rose to 827.
Earlier phases of Operation Sindhu included flights from Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), Yerevan (Armenia), and Qatar. The operation has also been extended to Israel, where Indian nationals wishing to leave the country will be helped. Recently, a group of Indian citizens crossed from Israel into Egypt through the Taba land border, where they were met by the Indian Embassy in Cairo and given all necessary assistance.
As the conflict between Iran and Israel continues into its second week, with missile and aerial attacks ongoing, India is among several countries working to evacuate their citizens from the affected areas. The Indian Embassy has also urged Sri Lankan and Nepali nationals in Iran to contact emergency numbers provided for assistance during the evacuation.
