 "Over 4,400 Indian nationals evacuated from Iran, Israel in 19 special flights so far: MEA")
India has so far evacuated more than 4,400 Indian nationals from Iran and Israel in 19 special flights under Operation Sindhu launched on June 18 to bring home its citizens amid an ongoing conflict between the two countries, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The evacuated Indian nationals included “more than 1,500 women and 500 children”, the MEA said in a statement on Friday.
“The government of India is deeply committed to the safety and well-being of its citizens abroad. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guidance, Operation Sindhu is another demonstration of this commitment,” it said.
“We thank the governments of Iran, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Armenia and Turkmenistan for their support during Operation Sindhu. Indian Missions will stay engaged with host governments and the Indian community in Iran, Israel and the wider West Asia region,” the MEA added.
A batch of 173 Indians evacuated from Iran reached Delhi late on Thursday night in a flight from Armenian capital Yerevan, the MEA had said in a post on X.
Responding to queries on Operation Sindhu at his weekly media briefing a day before, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi was assessing the situation on the ground and a decision on the future course of action would be taken based on it.
More than 3,400 Indian nationals have so far been evacuated in 14 flights from Iran since the start of Operation Sindhu, according to data shared by Jaiswal during the briefing.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe MEA spokesperson later shared updated evacuee figures in a post on X after the arrival of the flight from Yerevan.
“A special evacuation flight from Yerevan, Armenia landed in New Delhi at 22:30 hrs on 26th June, bringing home 173 Indian nationals from Iran,” he said.
“As part of #OperationSindhu, a total of 4,415 Indian nationals (3,597 from Iran and 818 from Israel) have been evacuated so far using 19 special evacuation flights including 3 IAF aircraft. 14 OCI card-holders, 9 Nepali nationals, 4 Sri Lankan nationals and 1 Iranian spouse of an Indian national were also evacuated from Iran,” he added.
On June 24, India said while it remained “deeply concerned about the prospects for overall and sustained regional security and stability”, it welcomed reports of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
Hours after US President Donald Trump’s claims of an Iran-Israel ceasefire, the MEA had, in a statement, said “India stands ready to play its part” to resolve the situation and insisted on “dialogue and diplomacy” as the way forward.
Jaiswal was asked on Thursday if India would continue Operation Sindhu after the Iran-Israel ceasefire and about the total number of Indian nationals evacuated from the two countries so far.
“We launched Operation Sindhu on June 18. We have around 10,000 people. Indian community members in Iran. And around 40,000 people in Israel who are Indian nationals,” he had said.
One Iranian woman, who is the wife of an Indian national, has also been evacuated, Jaiswal had added.
The majority of the evacuations were carried out through Mashhad, after Iran opened its airspace for the evacuation flights under Operation Sindhu on June 20 on India’s request, the MEA said.
The Israel leg of Operation Sindhu commenced on June 23. Indian missions in Tel Aviv, Ramallah, Amman and Cairo facilitated the movement of Indian nationals through land borders to Jordan and Egypt.
“A total of 818 Indian nationals were evacuated, including students, workers and professionals. They were evacuated from Amman and Sharm al Sheikh from 22-25 June using four evacuation flights, including 3 IAF C-17 aircraft,” the MEA added.
In view of the re-opening of the airspace, the evacuation operations were halted on June 25. Further actions will be taken based on the evolving situation in West Asia, the statement said.
A special flight carrying 272 Indians and three Nepalese nationals from Iran arrived in Delhi a little past midnight (on June 26) from the Iranian city of Mashhad, Jaiswal had posted on X earlier.
India evacuated 296 Indian citizens and four Nepalese nationals from Iran on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, it evacuated more than 1,100 citizens from Iran and Israel.
It brought back 594 Indians from Israel, using C-17 heavy-lift aircraft of the Indian Air Force to fly out more than 400 people after they were moved out of Israel to Jordan and Egypt by land transit points.
Also, 161 Indians were brought back in a chartered flight from Amman after they had moved to the Jordanian capital from Israel by road.
A total of 573 Indians, three Sri Lankans and two Nepalese nationals were evacuated from Iran in two chartered flights on Tuesday, according to details shared by the MEA.
Several other flights have brought Indian nationals back home after being evacuated from Iran.
Israel and Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at each other’s cities and military and strategic facilities since the hostilities began around two weeks ago.
The tensions escalated significantly following the US bombing of three major Iranian nuclear sites on the morning of June 22.
The first flight landed in New Delhi late on June 20 with 290 Indians and the second one landed in the capital on June 21 afternoon with 310 Indians.
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