India launches 'Operation Sindhu' as it evacuates Indian students stranded in Iran
As per the official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs, around 110 students have been evacuated from northern Iran.
Amid the growing tensions between Iran and Israel, India has launched ‘Operation Sindhu’ with the aim to bring back Indian students stranded in Iran.
As per the official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs, around 110 students have been evacuated from northern Iran. These students were asked to cross over into Armenia, from where they are being brought back to New Delhi.
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“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 special flight and will arrive in New Delhi in the early hours of 19th June 2025,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
Iran is home to over 4,000 Indian nationals, of whom half are students. Many of the students are from the region of Jammu and Kashmir and are enrolled in medical and other professional courses.
As per MEA, the first flight of Indian students has taken off from Yerevan's Zvartnots International Airport and are expected to reach India in the early hours of Thursday - June 19.
This is not the first time the Indian government has launched a special evacuation operation to bring home Indians stranded in war areas.
In 2023, the Indian government launched Operation Ajay, which aimed to bring back Indians stranded in Israel during the war with Hamas.
A similar operation - Operation Ganga - was launched in 2022 to bring home Indian students from Ukraine. The operation was launched after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out.
