Evacuated over 3,400Indian nationals from Iranin 14 flights so far: MEA

 

 

INDIA has evacuated over 3,400 Indian nationals from Iran so far in 14 flights under Operation Sindhu launched on June 18 to bring home its citizens amid the ongoing IranIsrael conflict, according to data shared by the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday. At his weekly media brief ing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in response to queries on Operation Sindhu,also said, New Delhi was “assessing the situation on ground” and depending on that a decision would be taken whether to “continue with it or not”.

 

On June 24, while India remained “deeply concerned about the prospects for overall and sustained regional security and stability” she welcomed reports of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Hours after US President Donald Trump’s claims of an Iran-Israel ceasefire, the MEA 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 if India would continue Operation Sindhu after the Iran-Israel ceasefire, and about the total number of India 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 said. He went on to tell reporters,“FromIran,wehave so far evacuated 3,426 Indian nationals, 11 OCI (Overseas CitizensofIndia) cardholders, nine Nepalese nationals, and some Sri Lankan nationals as well.”