As the Israel-Iran war rages amid indications that the US could join the strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, Delhi has managed to persuade Tehran to open Iranian airspace for the evacuation of around 1,000 Indians via the north-eastern town of Mashhad. Sources said Delhi, after days of negotiations, has moved its nationals to Mashhad and secured overflight permissions from Iran and Turkmenistan to fly Indians out of harm’s way. Mashhad is close to Iran’s border with Turkmenistan, and India has found an air corridor for a safe flight out. Sources said at least three flights of Iranian airline Mahan Air are being operated to bring back Indians this weekend. At least two flights are expected to reach India late Friday or early Saturday — one from Mashhad in Iran and another from Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. Iran’s Deputy Chief of Mission to India Mohammad Javad Hosseini confirmed the evacuation development and said the Indians were moved from Tehran to Qom and then to Mashhad, with the help of the Indian embassy and Iranian authorities. Officials of the Iranian embassy said that some Indian students have sustained injuries in a strike and the Iranian Foreign Ministry was in close touch with the Indian mission in Tehran. The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement, said, “In view of the deteriorating situation as a result of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, the Government of India has been taking various steps over the last several days for the safety and security of Indian nationals in Iran.” It said the government is grateful to the governments of Iran and Armenia for smooth facilitation of the evacuation process. “India accords highest priority to the safety and security of Indian nationals abroad. As part of the ongoing operation (Operation Sindhu), the Indian Embassy in Iran has been assisting large numbers of Indian nationals in moving from areas seeing increased hostilities to relatively safer areas within the country and to subsequently evacuate them using the available and feasible options,” it said. The MEA said Indian nationals in Iran are advised to stay in touch with the Indian embassy in Tehran through its emergency helpline, and with the MEA’s 24x7 control room. More than 4,000 Indian nationals are said to be living in Iran and half of them are students. Earlier, on Tuesday, India had asked its nationals to leave Tehran. The contact details of the control room are: 1800118797 (toll-free), +91-11-23012113, +91-11-23014104, +91-11-23017905 +91-9968291988 (Whatsapp) situationroom@mea.gov.in. In addition, the Indian Embassy in Tehran has set up a 24x7 emergency helpline, the MEA said. “For calls only: +98 9128109115, +98 9128109109; For WhatsApp: +98 901044557, +98 9015993320, +91 8086871709; Bandar Abbas: +98 9177699036; Zahedan: +98 9396356649; cons.tehran@mea.gov.in (email),” it said. On Wednesday, India said it had launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran. A total of 110 Indian students were evacuated from northern Iran to Armenia on June 19. It has now started working on an evacuation plan from Israel as well. So far, countries have mainly used the land routes to get out of Iran. Greece has evacuated 16 nationals and their families by land from Iran to Azerbaijan and is now working on their repatriation to Greece. France is arranging a convoy by the end of the week from Iran to the Turkish or Armenian borders. New Zealand temporarily closed its Tehran embassy and evacuated two staff and their families by land to Azerbaijan. South Korea has supported the evacuation of 32 of its citizens from Iran to Turkmenistan. Bulgaria has closed its embassy in Tehran and evacuated diplomatic staff and their families to neighbouring Azerbaijan. India has faced a diplomatic challenge post Operation Sindoor. Armenia and Turkmenistan are some of Iran’s neighbouring countries that Delhi is in touch with. India doesn’t have very good ties with some of the other countries bordering Iran – Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan. Both Ankara and Baku were seen taking sides with Islamabad. Besides Armenia, Turkmenistan and Iraq are the other neighbouring countries of Iran with whom India has good ties; it doesn’t have formal diplomatic ties with Afghanistan. It also has the Persian Gulf route, from where it can evacuate Indians through ships or via Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. With such complex regional dynamics at play, Delhi is tapping all its diplomatic relationships as it has to evacuate more Indians before fighting escalates.
