Operation Sindhu: 827 Indian nationals returned to India from Iran so far, says MEA

Nearly 827 Indian nationals have so far returned to India from Iran under Operation Sindhu, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Saturday.

"Another evacuation flight from Mashhad landed in New Delhi at 1630 hrs on 21 June with 310 Indian nationals from Iran. With this, a total of 827 Indians have been evacuated," said MEA.

The ongoing evacuation exercise was launched by the Indian government following rising security risks due to the conflict between Iran and Israel.





The Indian Embassy in Tehran has been coordinating the movement of citizens on the ground, while the MEA is overseeing their return to India. A fresh group of evacuees, including students and religious travellers, reached Delhi on Saturday as Iran makes a rare exception for New Delhi to evacuate 1,000 Indians amid its airspace closure.

Also Read: Iran makes an exception, opens airspace to facilitate evacuation of 1,000 Indian students

India’s Operation Sindhu has now brought back over 500 citizens from conflict-hit Iran. With the situation on the ground growing volatile, the government has stepped up efforts to ensure the safety of its nationals through organised evacuation flights and cross-border movement.

Among those who returned was Zaffar Abbas Naqvi, who described how the situation escalated suddenly. “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,” Naqvi was quoted as saying by ANI.

Kulsum, another Indian national who returned safely, said the situation was tense in Iran. “The situation in Iran is not good. We were very worried. The government helped us a lot and brought us back home safely,” she said while speaking to ANI.

Earlier, the first batch of evacuees, 110 Indian students, including 90 from Jammu and Kashmir, was transported out of northern Iran to Armenia, before being flown to New Delhi. Most of the students were enrolled at Urmia Medical University.

The evacuation continues as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its ninth day on Saturday. The fighting began on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes targeting Iranian military and nuclear installations in what it called “Operation Rising Lion.” In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched “Operation True Promise 3,” targeting Israeli energy infrastructure with missiles and drones.

(With ANI inputs)