New Delhi, June 26: India has completed key phase of Operation Sindhu, with the safe evacuation of thousands of Indian nationals from conflict-affected regions in West Asia, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday.
Briefing the media, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that the operation commenced on June 18 and has thus far brought back 3,426 Indian nationals from Iran, along with 11 Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), 9 Nepalis, a Sri Lankan, and one Iranian national who is married to an Indian. A total of 15 flights were operated to facilitate the evacuations, with the final flight expected to land in India tonight from Armenia.
From Israel, 818 Indians were evacuated on four flights, the spokesperson added, noting that India has approximately 40,000 citizens in Israel and around 10,000 in Iran.
Jaiswal expressed gratitude to the governments of Iran and Israel, as well as to neighbouring countries including Jordan, Egypt, Turkmenistan, and Armenia, for their cooperation in facilitating the evacuation.
When asked about the possibility of further evacuations, the MEA spokesperson said future flight operations will depend on an ongoing assessment of the ground situation. A decision on whether to extend Operation Sindhu will be taken accordingly.
