India evacuates fresh batch of 292 Indians from Iran
New Delhi (PTI): India on Tuesday continued evacuation of its citizens from Iran with over 2,200 Indians brought back from the Persian Gulf nation so far, amid escalating tensions following the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites.
Two-hundred-ninety-two Indian nationals were evacuated from Iran on a special flight that arrived in New Delhi from Mashhad at 3:30 am, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Sharing details about India's evacuation mission Operation Sindhu that was launched following a fresh wave of hostilities between Iran and Israel, he said,
"2,295 Indian nationals have now been brought home from Iran".
Separately, a C-17 military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force evacuated 165 Indians who were living in Israel. They were received at the airport by Union Minister L Murugan.
The aircraft brought back the Indians from Amman after. The Indians were taken to the capital city of Jordan through land border crossings.
Two-hundred-ninety Indian nationals and one Sri Lankan were evacuated from Iranian city Mashhad on a special flight on Monday night.
India launched Operation Sindhu last week to bring back Indians from Iran and Israel in view of increasing hostilities between the two nations.
Israel and Iran have fired hundreds of missiles and drones at each other's cities and military and strategic facilities since the hostilities began over a week back.
The tensions escalated significantly following the US bombing of three major Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning.
India has evacuated its nationals on chartered flights operated from the Iranian city of Mashhad, the Armenian capital of Yerevan and the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat since Wednesday.
Iran lifted airspace restrictions on Friday to facilitate three chartered flights from Mashhad.
The first flight landed in New Delhi late on Friday with 290 Indians, and the second one landed in the national capital on Saturday afternoon with 310 Indians.
Another flight arrived from the Armenian capital city of Yerevan on Thursday. A special evacuation flight from Ashgabat landed in New Delhi early Saturday.
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PM Modi speaks to Iranian president, discusses 'serious' situation in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone and discussed the "serious situation" in West Asia.
Modi expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions in the region and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure.
The prime minister told the Iranian President that the safety and security of Indian nationals, along with the need for unhindered transit of goods and energy, remain India's top priorities.
“Had a conversation with Iranian President, Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the serious situation in the region. Expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure,” Modi said in a post on X.
The prime minister also reiterated India's commitment to peace and stability and urged dialogue and diplomacy to end the crisis.
The prime minister had spoken to leaders of several West Asian countries in the last 10 days in the wake of the coordinated offensive launched against Iran by the United States and Israel, in which the Islamic country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed last month.
In retaliation, Iran has fired drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations around the Gulf region, including the global business and aviation hubs of Dubai and Doha.
Modi earlier spoke to the leaders of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Israel and Qatar, and expressed concern over the attacks on their countries, and condemned the violation of some nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also discussed the welfare and security of the Indian community residing in those countries.
Around 1 crore Indians live in the Gulf and West Asia. While about 10,000 Indian citizens live, study and work in Iran, more than 40,000 live in Israel.
