India has stepped up its evacuation efforts amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel, successfully airlifting 292 Indian nationals from Iran and 366 from Israel on Tuesday. These evacuations come after the recent US strikes on three major Iranian nuclear sites, which have intensified hostilities between the two countries.
With this latest operation, India has now safely brought back a total of 2,295 nationals from Iran. The evacuated Indians from Israel were first moved overland to Jordan before being flown to India. A chartered flight carrying 161 Indians landed in New Delhi from Amman at 8:20 am, followed by another group of 165 Indians who arrived on a C-17 military transport aircraft, welcomed by Union Minister L Murugan.
From Iran, a special flight carrying 292 Indian nationals landed in New Delhi from Mashhad early Tuesday morning at 3:30 am. The External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed the figures and shared updates on Operation Sindhu, India’s evacuation mission launched in response to the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.
The conflict between the two nations has seen hundreds of missiles and drones exchanged, targeting cities and strategic locations. The situation worsened after the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, prompting India to initiate multiple chartered evacuation flights from key locations including Mashhad in Iran, Yerevan in Armenia, and Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.
Since the lifting of airspace restrictions by Iran on Friday, India has operated three flights from Mashhad. The first flight brought 290 Indians to New Delhi late Friday, followed by a second flight carrying 310 nationals on Saturday afternoon. Additional evacuation flights have been conducted from Armenia and Turkmenistan.
Operation Sindhu continues to prioritize the safe return of Indian citizens caught in the crossfire, underscoring India’s commitment to protecting its nationals abroad amid geopolitical tensions.
