Operation Sindhu: India brings back 290 Indians, 1 Sri Lankan from Iran; evacuation tally nears 2,000 | India News
NEW DELHI: Another group of Indian nationals stranded in conflict-hit Iran was successfully brought home as part of Operation Sindhu, with a special flight carrying 290 Indians and one Sri Lankan national landing in Delhi late Saturday night.Welcoming the evacuees, Union minister of state for external affairs Pabitra Margherita said the government’s evacuation mission remains in full swing.The ministry of external affairs (MEA) confirmed that 1,713 Indian nationals have now been repatriated from Iran, while the overall number, including arrivals on Monday, has reached 2,003.Among those rescued was Fatima Iman, a Sri Lankan national, who thanked the Indian Embassy, “I am grateful for everything. The experience was very smooth.”The latest batch included people from states such as Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.The MEA, in a post on X, said, “India’s evacuation efforts continue under #OperationSindhu. MoS Shri Pabitra Margherita received 285 Indian nationals evacuated on a special flight from Mashhad that landed in New Delhi at 2330 hrs on 22 June.”Margherita also announced that three more evacuation flights from Iran are scheduled over the next two to three days, and 162 Indians in Jordan, having crossed over from Israel, would be brought home soon.Operation Sindhu has also facilitated the evacuation of 604 Indians via Jordan and Egypt from Israel so far. The first batch of 161 evacuees from this route is expected to arrive in Delhi early on June 24.
