Over 1,400 Indian nationals have been brought back from Iran so far under Operation Sindhu, India’s evacuation initiative launched amid intensifying hostilities in the Middle East, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Sunday.
In view of the deteriorating situation as a result of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, India launched Operation Sindhu on June 18 to facilitate the safe return of its citizens stranded in Iran.
The latest special flight carrying 311 Indians stranded in conflict-hit Iran landed safely in New Delhi on Sunday, bringing the total number of people evacuated under Operation Sindhu to 1,428.
This marks the sixth batch of Indians evacuated from Iran as part of the ongoing operation.
The evacuation flight from Mashhad landed in New Delhi at 4:30 PM on Sunday.
In a post on X, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote, ” #OperationSindhu continues. 311 Indian nationals arrived in New Delhi on a special flight from Mashhad at 1630 hrs on 22nd June. 1428 Indian nationals have now been evacuated from Iran.”
The Government of India has been actively coordinating efforts for the safety and repatriation of Indian nationals in Iran.
Earlier, a special flight carrying 290 Indians stranded in conflict-hit Iran landed safely in New Delhi on Saturday night and it was the fifth batch of Indians evacuated from Iran as part of the ongoing operation.
In a post on X, the MEA spokesperson said, “#OperationSindhu gains momentum. 290 Indian nationals have returned home safely from Iran on a special flight from Mashhad that landed in New Delhi at 2330 hrs on 21 June 2025. With this, 1,117 Indian nationals have been evacuated from Iran.”
The evacuees, including students, shared their experiences of the tense situation in Iran and expressed deep gratitude to the Indian government and embassy officials.
An Indian national from Bihar’s Siwan, studying medicine at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, said, “I am from Siwan, Bihar. I have been in Iran for the last 2 years. I study medicine at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The situation in Tehran is critical. Other places are normal. I am thankful to the government (for the evacuation).”
Another evacuee, Naveed, a second-year MBBS student, added, “I am from Kashmir. I am a 2nd-year MBBS student. I feel very good now. I am thankful to India. They evacuated us.”
Describing the fear they faced, one evacuee said, “I feel very good. There were missiles firing. We were feeling very afraid there. We were stuck there for 1 week.”
Momin Ushtaq from Kashmir praised the government’s efforts, saying, “I am from Kashmir. The situation is not good there. We are very thankful to the government of India, Kashmir, and the Embassy. They deserve a special thanks, as they evacuated us and brought us back home.”
Parveen, another evacuee, said, “I am very happy. I am thankful to PM Modi from the bottom of my heart. Our government helped us to get back here.”
Indira Kumari added, “We have returned. I am thankful to the Indian government and the Prime Minister of India.”
Meanwhile, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba on Saturday thanked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for assisting in the evacuation of Nepali students from conflict-hit Iran, calling it a reflection of the strong Nepal-India ties.
In a post on X, Deuba wrote, “Thank you External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar for India’s swift assistance in helping to evacuate Nepali nationals from Iran. India’s support in Nepal’s evacuation efforts is a reflection of strength of Nepal- India ties.”
Earlier, the Sri Lankan Government also extended its heartfelt gratitude to the Government of India for its timely assistance in evacuating Sri Lankan nationals from conflict-hit Iran.
The gesture, part of India’s Operation Sindhu, underscores the robust and enduring partnership between the two nations, as the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka said in a post on X.
“Sri Lanka extends its sincere gratitude to the Government of India for the timely assistance to evacuate Sri Lankan nationals from Iran alongside Indian citizens,” the post read.
“This act of solidarity exemplifies the strong and enduring partnership between Sri Lanka and India and is deeply appreciated by the people of Sri Lanka,” it added.
Amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, the Indian Embassy in Tehran on Saturday announced that, upon formal requests from the Governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the evacuation operation under ‘Operation Sindhu’ will now also include nationals from these two neighbouring countries.