Several Indians, including students, have arrived here in commercial flights from Iran amid widespread protests in the Islamic nation and Tehran’s crackdown that has so far killed more than 2,500 people.
The flights arrived at the Delhi airport late on Friday night. It was not immediately known how many Indians had arrived in these commercial flights.
Upon arriving at the airport here, Ali Naqui, who was a part of a group of 12 to 13 travellers, was asked if they faced any difficulty in Iran. “We didn’t face any problem,” he replied.
“We have returned from Tehran. Earlier, we were in Iraq, then we travelled to Iran. After an eight-day stay there, we have returned to India,” he said.
A young woman, who is studying at a medical college in Shiraz, said, “The Internet was not working. So, we didn’t exactly know what was happening around the country.” The student said the situation in the city she was in was “fine”. “We have come back on our own in a commercial flight, and not on the arrangement of the Indian government.” Late on Friday night, many people arrived at the airport to receive their relatives arriving from Iran. While many seemed to be gripped by a sense of anxiety, they said that the Indian Embassy in Tehran has been reassuring all Indian nationals there, through whatever means of communication available.
Abbas Qazmi, whose mother and aunt returned from Iran, said, “There was definitely some anxiety because it was a global issue, and when the Internet was shut, we were quite worried.” “But as soon as communication resumed, we realised that things were under control. That gave us assurance that everything was fine. We had registered with the embassy as soon as the advisory was issued and were waiting for further instructions. My mother’s flight was already scheduled, so things went smoothly, and we are happy,” he said.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in his weekly media briefing on Friday, said, “At present, there are approximately 9,000 of our nationals living in Iran. Most of them are our students”.
In addition to this, there are sailors, pilgrims, and some people who are associated with business and reside there, he said, adding that in view of the recent developments and activities taking place there, “we have issued two to three advisories”.
“In these advisories, we have stated that our citizens should not travel to Iran at this time. And the Indian nationals who are currently residing there have been advised that, through whatever means available to leave the country at present, commercial flights are still operating, and that option is also available; they should make use of those and leave,” he said.
Apart from this, New Delhi is “closely monitoring the situation and developments there”, Jaiswal had said.
“As far as the safety and interests of our people are concerned, whatever needs to be done in their interest, if the need arises, we are fully committed to doing that,” he added.
Iran has been rocked by a wave of protests in the past several weeks over inflation and currency devaluation. The protests began late last month in Tehran after the Iranian currency, the Rial, plunged to record lows. The protests have since spread to all 31 provinces, evolving from an agitation against economic woes to a demand for political change.