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India moves students out of Tehran, some Indians leave Iran via Armenia
As tensions between Israel and Iran spiral out of control, other Indians in Tehran have also been advised to move out of the city.
Indian students have been moved out of Tehran and some Indian nationals have been helped to leave Iran via the land border with Armenia, the external affairs ministry said on Tuesday against the backdrop of continuing military clashes between Iran and Israel.
Since the weekend, Indian authorities had begun relocating Indian students in Iran to safer places in the face of Israeli air attacks and bombings. Iran is home to more than 4,000 Indian nationals, about half of them students. Many of the students are from Jammu and Kashmir and are enrolled in medical and other professional courses.
The external affairs ministry said in a statement that Indian students in Tehran had been “moved out of the city for reasons of safety, through arrangements made by the embassy”. The statement did not give the number of students who had been moved out of the capital city or say where they had been taken.
“Separately, some Indians have been facilitated to leave Iran through the border with Armenia,” the statement said, again without giving the number of Indians who had left Iran for Armenia.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar had spoken to his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan on Monday to discuss the evacuation of Indians from Iran via the land border due to the closure of Iranian airspace, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
The external affairs ministry said other Indian nationals, “who are self-sufficient in terms of transport have also been advised to move out of [Tehran] in view of the developing situation”.
The Indian embassy continues to be in touch with the Indian community to extend all feasible assistance. “Further advisories may be issued given the fluid situation,” the statement said.
The Indian embassy in Tehran had been in touch with Indian students across Iran to ensure their safety, especially after a protest in Srinagar on Sunday by parents of students from Jammu and Kashmir who are studying in Iran.
The people cited above said buses were used to move Indian students from several universities to safer locations.
Kashmiri students usually opt for Iranian universities because of their affordability and similar cultural milieu. The students are spread across cities such as Tehran, Shiraz and Qom.
Meanwhile, Iran and Israel continued to trade attacks for the fifth day, and authorities in Tehran said they were preparing for the largest missile attack on Israel after a strike on Iranian state television.
The Israeli strikes on Iran’s television headquarters killed three people. The Israeli military said Iran had fired more missiles towards Israeli cities after it brought down 30 Iranian drones overnight.
US President Donald Trump, who abruptly left the G7 Summit in Canada on Monday, issued what appeared to be threat to Iran on social media. In a post, Trump said: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
The military clashes between Iran and Israel, which have continued for longer than any hostilities between the two sides in recent years, have triggered concerns about an all-out war. India, which has some nine million citizens spread across West Asia, has expressed concern at the developments and urged both countries to adopt dialogue and diplomacy to work towards de-escalation.
