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In a significant move against the backdrop of tensions in West Asia growing by the day, India has begun evacuating its nationals, mainly students from Iran, via Armenia as a safe transit route. Hostilities between Iran and Israel are increasing, causing safety concerns among Indian nationals in the region. As per the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), approximately 110 Indian students from Urmia crossed over to the Armenian border by Monday night and will be evacuated by air on Tuesday. Another 600 students have been shifted internally from Tehran to Qom, a comparatively safer place following Israeli air strikes that hit Iran’s capital city over the last few days.
There are approximately 10,000 Indian nationals in Iran, of whom about 6,000 are students studying in many different universities within the country, such as in Shiraz, Isfahan, Urmia, and Tehran. In a late Monday evening statement, the MEA affirmed that India is “transferring Indian students in Iran within Iran to secure their safety,” while also considering “other possible options” for evacuation.
Control Room Set Up By MEA
To assist families and facilitate hassle-free communication, the MEA has established a 24×7 control room in New Delhi. Emergency contact information for both the MEA as well as the Embassy in Tehran is as below:
MEA Control Room (New Delhi)
• Toll-Free: 1800 118 797
• Phone: +91-11-23012113 / 23014104 / 23017905
• WhatsApp: +91-9968291988
• Email: situationroom@mea.gov.in
Embassy of India, Tehran (24×7 Helpline)
• Phone (Call only): +98 9128109115, +98 9128109109
• WhatsApp: +98 901044557, +98 9015993320, +91 8086871709
• Regional Numbers: Bandar Abbas: +98 9177699036 | Zahedan: +98 9396356649
• Email: cons.tehran@mea.gov.in
Israel-Iran War Escalates
External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar has had talks with important regional counterparts, such as Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and the UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to enable evacuation and talk about the changing scenario in West Asia. In coordination with Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, India’s Embassy in Tehran has officially asked institutions like the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences to help in evacuating Indian students. “The Indian Embassy will be responsible for the entire movement and security of the students as part of the evacuation process,” MEA added.
In the meantime, the casualty count keeps climbing in the battle. A total of at least 224 have been reported killed in Israeli airstrikes all over Iran, with Iranian missile strikes on Israel early Monday morning stated to have killed eight civilians. Israel also issued fresh warnings for civilians in Tehran to evacuate certain areas amid fears of further airstrikes. The conflict began following Israeli strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructures, to which Iran has responded with waves of missile launches. As the conflict worsens, several Iranian civilians, particularly those living close to border towns, are migrating to Turkey. Shirin Talebi, an Iranian citizen, informed the Associated Press that she was waiting for her family at the Gurbulak-Bazargan border when she had come from Urmia. “They’re bombing. My children have small children of their own… I hope it’s over soon so we can return,” she said.
