Rescue personnel work at an impact site following a missile attack from Iran, in Bat Yam, on June 15, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
As Israel continued its bombing of targets in Iran, thousands of Indians stuck in various Iranian cities are demanding that the two sides declare a pause in fighting so that the Indian government could evacuate them through the airports in Iran. The Embassy of India in Tehran on Sunday issued a fresh list of emergency numbers and started a Telegram group to help Indians scattered across Iran to connect with the Indian authorities and urged everyone to register with travel documents so that their safety could be ensured.The issue was taken up on Sunday by Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, who spoke to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and urged him to ensure wellbeing of the Indian students in Iran.The Hindu has learnt from sources in the holy city of Qom (Iran) that several groups of Shia pilgrims from India, especially from Lucknow, who had travelled to Najaf and Karbala in Iraq and reached Qom have been stuck for the last few days since Israel started its bombing. An Indian pilgrim in Qom said all Iranian airports have suspended operations against the backdrop of the conflict and they are being forced to prolong their stay in hotels as uncertainty prevails.Israel-Iran conflict LIVE“Government of India should ask Israel and Iran to suspend the fight for some days so that we can be evacuated from Qom,” said an Indian pilgrim on condition of anonymity, noting that the Indian embassy is in contact with most clusters of Indians across Iran but the shutdown of the airports and lack of flights to India pose the biggest obstacles.After speaking to Mr. Jaishankar, Mr. Abdullah said, “The Honorable Minister assured me that the Ministry of External Affairs is in close contact with their counterparts in Iran and will take all necessary steps to safeguard all Indian students in Iran.” Evacuation under the prevailing circumstances is challenging as Iran has shut its airspace because of the exchange of missiles and drones. Israel has targeted the Mehrabad international airport near Tehran that is used for both civil aviation and military purposes by Iran and Israel, in anticipation of Iranian attacks, had shut down Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. Indian sources said that Iranian authorities have opened the Tehran Metro Rail network to be used as safety shelters in case of further intensification of fighting.Official sources further said that out of the approximately 10,000 Indians in Iran, 6,000 are students in various seminaries in Qom and other Shia centres of learning. “That apart, around 2,000 Indian nationals are fisherfolk and sailors in the southern ports of Iran and the rest are students in various medical colleges and Indian business families who have been living there for decades,” said an official source, indicating that evacuation by air is not possible as the airspace has been shut down and therefore the option of evacuation by ships from southern Iran is being considered.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | The last ‘revolutionary’ of IranIndian travellers in Iran had faced a comparable situation during the first wave of COVID-19, when Iran had shut down its airports across the country to deal with the surge in infection, leaving Indians stuck in hotels for many days.Indian tourists who are stranded in Qom are facing additional difficulty as hotels have spiked their room charges as the conflict continues. An Indian pilgrim in Qom said that the Indians are part of a large pilgrim community stuck in the city and that citizens of several other countries are also stuck there. Iran has tightened security in all public places in view of the clash with Israel and movement on the streets has become difficult because of stricter policing.The Embassy of India in Iran on Sunday issued fresh emergency WhatsApp numbers - +98-9010144557, +98-9015993320, and +91-8086871709 for citizens who are stuck in Iran in the prevailing circumstances. Separate numbers were also issued for those in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas (+98-9177699036) and Zahedan (+98-93963-56649). Published - June 15, 2025 07:52 pm IST
