MEA says operation Sindhu evacuates 1428 Indian nationals from Iran, will continue
By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – India external affairs ministry on Sunday said that due to the deteriorating situation in between Iran and Israel, India launched Operation Sindhu on June 18 to facilitate the safe return of its citizens stranded in Iran.
MEA said that 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 latest special flight carrying 311 Indians stranded in conflict-hit Iran landed safely in New Delhi on Sunday bring the total number of people evacuated under Operation Sindhu to 1,428.
MEA stated that 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, MEA added.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote in a post on X ” #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.
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.”
