New Delhi: India launched ‘Operation Sindhu’ to evacuate its nationals stuck in war-torn Iran, with a flight carrying 110 Indian students, including 90 from Jammu & Kashmir, expected to land in Delhi in the early hours of Thursday.
“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,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
“As a first step, the Indian Embassy has evacuated 110 Indian students from northern Iran, assisting them in safely crossing over into Armenia on June 17. The students have travelled by road to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, under the supervision of our Missions in Iran and Armenia. These students departed Yerevan on a special flight at 1455 hrs on June 18 and will arrive in New Delhi in the early hours of June 19 as part of the initial stages of Operation Sindhu,” MEA added.
MEA shared pictures of the students at the airport, and sitting on the plane, in a post on X.
Operation Sindhu begins 🇮🇳.
India launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran. India evacuated 110 students from northern Iran who crossed into Armenia under the supervision of our Missions in Iran and Armenia on 17th June. They departed from Yerevan on a… pic.twitter.com/8WJom7wh5f
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) June 18, 2025
The Indian government expressed its gratitude to the governments of Iran and Armenia for the “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, 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,” MEA said.
The Jammu & Kashmir Students’ Association (JKSA) thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for the evacuation effort, and reassuring anxious families back home during this period of uncertainty.
JKSA hoped that all remaining students will be evacuated soon.
All flight tickets, including Delhi to Srinagar leg, have been arranged free of cost by the Union government, JKSA said in a post on X.
Advisory for those still in Iran
Those Indian nationals who are still in Iran have been advised to stay in touch with the Indian Embassy in Tehran through its emergency helpline, and with the 24×7 Control Room established by the MEA in New Delhi.
Emergency helpline numbers of Indian Embassy in Tehran:
* For call only: +98 9128109115, +98 9128109109
* For WhatsApp: +98 901044557, +98 9015993320, +91 8086871709
* Bandar Abbas: +98 9177699036
* Zahedan: +98 9396356649
* Email: cons.tehran@mea.gov.in
Helpline numbers of 24×7 Control Room set up by MEA in New Delhi:
* 800118797 (Toll free), +91-11-23012113, +91-11-23014104, +91-11-23017905
* WhatsApp: +91-9968291988
* Email: situationroom@mea.gov.in
