Nearly 1,200 Indian nationals, most of them students, have left Iran since the beginning of the conflict in West Asia by crossing over land borders into Armenia and Azerbaijan, while three Indians were injured in attacks in the United Arab Emirates, External Affairs Ministry officials said on Wednesday.
About 9,000 Indians, including students and businessmen, were in Iran when military strikes by Israel and the United States on February 28 sparked the conflict. Scores of students have been transferred from cities like Tehran and Isfahan to safer locations, and hundreds of Indians have left the country through land border crossings where Iranian airspace remains closed.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a press conference: “Our embassy in Tehran facilitated the movement of 1,171 Indian citizens, including 818 students, to exit Iran through the land borders to Armenia and Azerbaijan.” From there, our citizens were flown back to India.”
Jaiswal said that 977 Indian citizens crossed from Iran to Armenia, and 194 to Azerbaijan. He said: “We thank the authorities in Armenia and Azerbaijan for their support in facilitating the safe crossing of our citizens from Iran.”
Asim Mahajan, Additional Secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said at the press conference that three Indian nationals sustained minor injuries in attacks that took place in Dubai on Tuesday. “They are receiving medical treatment at local hospitals and one of them has since been discharged,” he added.
Eight Indian nationals have died in West Asia since the conflict began. Five were killed in attacks in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman, while three sailors were killed in attacks on commercial ships in the early days of the conflict. Another Indian was reported missing.
Dozens of Indians, including workers and sailors, were injured in attacks that occurred in several Arab countries.
Mahajan said the bodies of an Indian sailor killed in an attack on the Safesea Vishnu merchant ship off the coast of Iraq on March 11, and another killed in Kuwait on March 29, arrived in the country on Wednesday.
The Indian leadership, while engaging with West Asian countries, has focused on the security and well-being of the ten million Indians living in the region. About four million Indians live in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while one million Indians live in Kuwait.
Mahajan said Indian missions in the region are facilitating visas and transit through neighboring countries for Indians in countries like Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain and Israel, where airspace remains closed.
