As Israeli Missiles Hit Iran, Indian Students in Tehran Are Being Relocated to Safer Areas
The Wire Staff
New Delhi: India's embassy in Tehran is aiding the relocation of some Indian students in Iran to safer places in the country as its escalating military conflict with Israel entered its third day on Sunday (June 15) and amid which Indians in both countries remain hunkered down in fear.
Earlier, with missiles striking residential areas in Tehran and Tel Aviv, Indian authorities had assessed that the situation was too perilous to begin evacuations.
In a statement issued early on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the embassy in Tehran was engaging Indian students for their safety and that “in some cases” they are “being relocated with the embassy’s facilitation to safer places within Iran”.
“Other feasible options are also under examination,” the ministry said without elaborating, adding that it was separately in touch with “community leaders regarding welfare and safety”.
Reports from Iran speak of exploding car bombs and residential areas in Tehran being targeted by Israeli strikes, while in Israel residential buildings in suburbs are being reduced to rubble by Iranian missiles.
There are over 10,000 Indian nationals in Iran and double that in Israel, as per current government figures.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday (June 15) tweeted that he had spoken with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar about Kashmiri students, tourists and pilgrims in Iran.
Two Kashmiri students living in a Tehran hostel suffered minor injuries when it was hit by an Israeli strike, Nasir Khuehami, national convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students' Association, said, adding to appeal for their evacuation to a safer location.
Apart from students, there are seafarers stuck at ports, businessmen and professionals in Tehran and other cities, who are urgently waiting for information.
The Indian embassy in Iran has been urgently collecting details of Indian nationals in Tehran, Isfahan and Urmia, many of whom are university students. While there are some Indian nationals living in the country with their Iranian spouses, officials have so far been collecting details of Indian citizens only.
With access to the internet being patchy, the Indian embassy issued phone numbers to be reached via WhatsApp as well as those of landlines in the mission in Tehran and the consulates in Bandar Abbas and Zahedan.
Some Indian nationals pointed out to embassy officials that they had travelled to Iran for periods less than two weeks, which does not require a visa, adding that they were unsure what would happen once they stay past their allotted time due to the conflict. Officials said they would speak with their Iranian counterparts to get approval for their exit.
While there has been a call for evacuation, the assessment remained, according to Indian officials earlier on Sunday evening, that it was “too dangerous” for that kind of movement with missiles and bombs going off.
The instructions remain that people should stay indoors and not venture outside. Officials have also asked Indian nationals to carry a copy of their passport with them in the event of an evacuation.
Iranian airspace has been closed since the start of the latest conflict, but there were also repeated queries from Indian nationals if they should cross the country's borders by road or take a ship from Iran's ports.
However, Indian officials stated that it was not advisable to travel either by road or ship.
Similarly, in Israel, the Indian embassy in its latest advisory urged all Indians to remain vigilant, avoid unnecessary movement and strictly follow safety protocols issued by Israeli authorities and emergency services.
Israel and Iran escalated their respective military attacks on Sunday, with the two sides launching missiles at each for the third consecutive day.
In Tehran smoke was reportedly seen billowing from the buildings of Iran's foreign and justice ministries, while on the previous day 60 people died when a single Israeli attack brought down an apartment building in the city, Reuters reported.
At least six people were killed by an Iranian missile strike on an apartment in Bat Yam near Tel Aviv overnight.
The conflict began with Israel launching its ‘Operation Rising Lion’ against Iran on Friday evening, wherein it killed some of the country's top military officials and scientists and also targeted its nuclear facilities on the pretext that the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei regime was making progress in obtaining nuclear weapons with which it could threaten Israel's existence.
Iran, which maintains that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, retaliated by launching missiles at Israel.
Israel's military claimed on Sunday that it hit an Iranian refuelling aircraft at the Mashhad Airport in northeastern Iran, which it said “marks the longest-range strike conducted since the beginning of Operation Rising Lion”.
The death toll in Israel as of early Sunday afternoon (Indian time) was 13, per the country's government press office.
Tehran has not provided an updated death toll, with local media being cited as saying that close to 130 Iranians were killed and over 900 others injured as of Saturday afternoon; the total number of fatalities is expected to have climbed since then.
This article was updated at 1:18 am on Monday with news of the external affairs ministry's statement.
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