New Delhi, June 20: In a special gesture, Iran has lifted airspace restrictions for three charter flights to evacuate about 1,000 Indian nationals, mostly students, from the Iranian city of Mashhad.
Mohammad Javad Hosseini, the deputy chief of mission at the Iranian embassy, said more evacuation flights could be operated in the coming days to bring back Indians if required.
The Indian nationals were moved to Mashad from Tehran following Israeli attacks on the Iranian capital city. The evacuation flights, to be operated by Iranian airline Mahan, are being arranged by New Delhi.
India launched Operation Sindhu on Wednesday to bring back its nationals from Iran and Israel in view of the precarious security situation arising out of Iran-Israel hostilities.
The first chartered flight carrying Indians are set to land in Delhi on Friday evening.
“We consider Indians as our own people. Iran’s airspace is closed but because of this issue, we are making arrangements to open it for the safe passage of Indian nationals,” Hosseini said at a media briefing.
“We consider Indian nationals to be our own people. They are like Iranians,” he said.
“About 1,000 Indians who were relocated from Tehran to Qom and then to Mashad will be evacuated to New Delhi on three charter flights,” Hosseini said.
“The first flight will land tonight at the New Delhi airport and there will be two more flights on Saturday,” he said.
The Iranian diplomat said more such flights could be arranged in the coming days if required.
Hosseini said Tehran is in close contact with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian embassy in Tehran to ensure safe evacuation of Indian nationals.
“We are arranging for the safe passage of Indians who want to leave via air or via road through third countries, or directly from Iran,” he said.
The Iranian diplomat also said that all Indians in Iran are safe. At the same time, he said a few Indian students sustained injuries after an Israeli air strike hit a students dormitory in Tehran a few days back.
A total of 110 Indian students were brought back to India on Thursday after they were moved from Iran to Armenia through land border crossing.
Hosseini said about 10,000 Indians are living in Iran and those wishing to return home are being evacuated.
The Israel-Iran military hostilities began over a week back. (PTI)
