India on Monday repatriated 290 Indian citizens and one Sri Lankan national from Iran in the wake of increasing tension between the Persian Gulf nation and Israel after the US airstrike on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
With the new evacuees, India has repatriated 2003 Indians from Iran to date.
Special Flight from Mashhad Lands in New Delhi
Two-hundred-ninety Indian nationals and one Sri Lankan were evacuated from Mashhad on a special flight that arrived in New Delhi at 1915 hours on Monday, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a social media post.
With this, 2003 Indian nationals have been brought back safely from Iran so far, he added.
Operation Sindhu: More Indians to Arrive from Jordan
A group of 161 Indians is also coming by a special flight in New Delhi from Amman after they were shifted to the Jordanian capital city from Israel as part of New Delhi’s evacuation operation Operation Sindhu.
The Indian nationals are likely to arrive at the national capital around midnight tonight, from sources familiar with the development.
India Launches Operation Sindhu Amid Iran-Israel Conflict
India initiated Operation Sindhu last week to evacuate Indians from Iran and Israel in light of rising tensions between the two countries.
Israel and Iran have launched hundreds of missiles and drones at each other’s cities and military and strategic installations since the hostilities erupted a week ago.
The tensions increased greatly after the US bombing of three key Iranian nuclear installations on Sunday morning.
India Uses Charter Flights from Multiple Locations for Evacuation
India has repatriated its citizens on chartered flights flown from the Iranian city of Mashhad, the Armenian capital Yerevan and Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat since Wednesday.
Iran removed airspace restrictions on Friday to allow three chartered flights from Mashhad.
The first flight arrived in New Delhi late on Friday with 290 Indians, and the second flight arrived in the national capital on Saturday afternoon with 310 Indians.
Yet another flight came in from Armenia’s capital city, Yerevan, on Thursday. A special evacuation flight from Ashgabat also came to New Delhi early morning on Saturday.
