New Delhi — : India has successfully evacuated 517 Indian nationals from Iran under Operation Sindhu, a mission launched amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, which has seen escalating drone and missile strikes. With more than 10,765 Indians residing in Iran, the Indian government is moving swiftly to bring its citizens home from high-risk areas.
On June 21, a third evacuation flight under the operation landed in New Delhi from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, carrying 117 Indian nationals. This follows an earlier flight from Mashhad, Iran, that returned with 290 Indian students just hours before, late Friday night.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed the numbers in a social media post. He stated that the flight from Ashgabat touched down at 3:00 AM, bringing another group of evacuees to safety. According to the MEA, 517 Indians have now been flown home under Operation Sindhu since the start of the evacuation effort.
Several returnees expressed deep gratitude to the Indian government. Zafar Abbas Naqvi, one of the evacuees, said the response was immediate after reaching out to Indian authorities: “We were terrified when the attacks began. The action was so fast, we can’t thank the government enough. Special thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for arranging everything.”
Another evacuee, Jiya Kulsum, said, “We were living in fear every day. The government gave us complete support and brought us home safely.”
The largest group among the evacuees are students from Jammu and Kashmir, many of whom were studying in Mashhad, Iran. The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association shared a public note of thanks on social media platform X, thanking Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for their timely intervention.
“The flight operated by Mahan Air brought back 290 students from Mashhad, most of them from Jammu and Kashmir. They have now landed safely in Delhi,” the association wrote.
The evacuation began with a first flight on June 19, which carried 110 students. These students, primarily from Urmia Medical University, traveled by road from Iran to Armenia, flew to Doha, and then boarded a final flight to Delhi.
As tensions in the Middle East continue, India’s rapid-response Operation Sindhu is proving critical in safeguarding its citizens and ensuring their safe return from conflict zones.
