'Civilians Were Hit': Indian Students Recall Horror Amid Israeli Strikes, Praise MEA Efforts

New Delhi: Sania Mehdi (25) was in her apartment when she heard loud noises at a distance on June 14. “It must be crackers,” she thought to herself, since celebrations for a local festival had just begun in Tehran. “But soon, it began to get very loud and then there were thundering flashes of light in the sky that felt like lightning,” she recalled.

It was unlike any other noise that Mehdi, an Indian student pursuing medicine in Tehran, had heard during the past four years she had spent at the Iran University of Medicine Science.

Over 1,500 Indian students are enrolled in medical science courses in Iran, famous for their affordability as well as their curriculum. The latter is recognised by the Indian government and allows Indian students to come back and practice after clearing the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam. Students say it's significantly cheaper than a private medical education in India or Bangladesh.

‘Tehran under attack’

As the noise began to grow louder, Sania peeked from her window only to find out that the object lighting up Tehran’s skies were not crackers. “They kept coming and didn't stop,” said Mehdi. “We rushed to check news on X and discovered that Tehran was under attack from Israel,” she said.

Mehdi said that the second night was even more frightening. News of an escalating Israeli aerial offensive and targeting of civilian enclaves – including universities and hospitals – was coming in. Two students from Tehran University reportedly sustained minor injuries during the attack and were immediately evacuated to a safe zone by their university authorities, Mehdi heard.

‘Our neighbours were gone’

“The situation in Tehran is really bad. We live right in the centre of Tehran,” said Shakira Manzoor, a final year student at IUMS. “For three days, we could not sleep, not even a wink. It would get even worse during the night. We could hear loud explosions and could see drones flying over our apartment,” she said.

Manzoor said that the students had no idea of the intensity of the attack on the first day.

“The days were relatively calm,” she added, “but the day before yesterday (June 16), there was intense bombing even during the day. Civilian buildings were hit and some official buildings were completely wiped off.”

The Iranian capital houses over ten million people. Like Delhi, it's a city of migrants. As soon as the attacks escalated, and after threats from Israel and a missive by US president Donald Trump, people began fleeing Tehran in large numbers. Manzoor saw the neighbourhoods get empty. “Day before yesterday, our Iranian neighbours who live across the street were telling us to not panic and that everything will be fine, but when the attacks started during the day, they left their apartment without notice,” said Manzoor.

The roads leading out of the city were packed with cars, Manzoor heard. When asked about her Iranian friends, she said that they were angry, but more than anything, they were very scared because the amount of destruction has been huge in Tehran.

Also read: Iran-Israel Conflict: Many Indians in Tehran Bussed Out, Embassy Advises Leaving City

‘Embassy was very helpful’

Anxious on the first day of the strikes, students at IUMS arrived at the Indian Embassy in Tehran. “For the first two days, the embassy officials told us to calm down. It was being anticipated that things will be back to normal,” a student said, requesting anonymity.

“But we got a message from the embassy officials to be ready to leave Tehran soon,” said Mehdi.

“The embassy was very helpful. They arranged buses, accommodation, and food for us,” said Manzoor.

Mehdi said that hundreds of Indian students from IUMS and Azad University were brought to Qom in “AC buses” and given comfortable accommodation in hotels rented by the embassy. Saniya said that she's staying at a hotel in Qom with over 30 other students.

Mehdi also said that 20 buses were arranged by the embassy to evacuate students to Mashhad. “The first batch of 10 buses has left. We have covered 200 kilometres [almost one-fifth of the journey]," she said, adding that their journey has been safe so far.

“We should give credit where due. The Indian embassy has been very responsive since day one. Unlike students from Pakistan and Nigeria, who've been asked to come back on their own, the Indian embassy is arranging everything for the students,” said Faizan, a student of medicine at the Kerman University. 

He said that there is no option to airlift students and it is not safe to travel long distances by road. “It is impossible to go to the border straight from Tehran. But wherever there is a possibility, students have been helped,” he said, citing the example of Urmia Medical University students who've been evacuated to Armenia and will be flying back to India via Doha. 

 “110 Indian students from Urmia Medical University, including 90 from the Kashmir Valley and others from different Indian states, successfully crossed the border into Armenia on Tuesday. We have spoken to the students, who safely reached the Armenian capital, Yerevan, and were accommodated at their designated hotels,” said Nasir Khuehami, the convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association. He added that they have been informed by the external affairs ministry that “all tickets have been arranged free of cost by the Government of India.”

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