Operation Sindhu: First flight carrying 110 citizens thank Modi govt, Indian embassies on safe evacuation from Iran

As part of Operation Sindhu, the first flight carrying 110 Indian citizens arrived in New Delhi after being successfully evacuated from Iran.

All the Indian nationals were flown to Delhi on IndiGo flight 6E 9487.

Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, welcomed the evacuated Indian citizens at the airport, IANS reported.

The flight carrying 110 Indian students from Urmia Medical University in Iran landed in New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport at Terminal-3.

After welcoming all 110 evacuated Indian citizens who arrived in New Delhi, Union MoS for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told IANS, "We have planes ready. We'll be sending another plane today. We are evacuating some more people from Turkmenistan. Today, another plane will be going and our missions have opened a 24-hour helpline for any requests for evacuation. As the situation evolves, we'll be sending more planes and more chartered flights to evacuate all Indian nationals from Iran..."

Several Indian students spoke to IANS after being evacuated from Iran amid escalating military conflict between Iran and Israel.

Expressing his emotions after arriving in New Delhi, an evacuated student told IANS, "The situation was extremely dangerous and we were scared. We saw drones, injured people and the internet was down, nothing was working... But the Indian government came through, took us in, and brought us home safely. Salute to them, they took an unbelievable step and we’re truly proud. We are Indians, and India got us out safely..."

Thanking Indian Embassy in Iran and Armenia as well as the Narendra Modi government, another evacuated student told IANS, "The situation in Iran is very bad. Two days ago, it was a bit better, but now it's much worse... We are extremely thankful to the Indian government for the way we were evacuated and treated. I'm truly grateful to the Indian Embassy and the Indian government."

Another evacuated student told IANS, "The situation there (in Iran) is definitely bad... the Indian Embassies in Iran and Armenia provided us with everything and prioritised our evacuation, bringing us back to India first.."

India has launched 'Operation Sindhu' to evacuate its nationals from Iran amid escalating regional tensions.

The first batch of 110 Indian citizens, including 90 students from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, arrived in New Delhi in the early hours of Thursday.

The evacuation was conducted via Armenia, with the students travelling by road to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, under the supervision of Indian missions in Iran and Armenia.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Wednesday evening that Indian students residing in Tehran were safely evacuated from the city through coordination by the Indian Embassy.

"Indian students in Tehran have been moved out of the city for safety reasons through arrangements made by the Indian Embassy," the Ministry said in their official statement.

The Indian students left Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, Armenia, via a special flight at 14:55 IST on June 18, with their expected arrival in New Delhi during the early hours of June 19.

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced through Twitter, "Operation Sindhu begins. India launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran. India evacuated 110 students from northern Iran who crossed into Armenia under the supervision of our Missions in Iran and Armenia on June 17.

This is part of the many steps that the Indian government has taken over the last several days for the safety and security of Indian nationals stuck in Iran and called for help in view of the deteriorating situation due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The Indian government said that it is grateful to the governments of Iran and Armenia for the smooth facilitation of the evacuation process.

"India accords highest priority to the safety and security of Indian nationals abroad. As part of the ongoing operation, the Indian Embassy in Iran has been assisting large numbers of Indian nationals in moving from areas seeing increased hostilities to relatively safer areas within the country and to subsequently evacuate them using the available and feasible options," the MEA said.

The MEA advised Indian nationals in Iran to stay in touch with the Indian Embassy in Tehran through its emergency helpline, and with the 24x7 Control Room established by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.