Indian evacuees laud 'Operation Sindhu', thanks PM Modi for safe return from war-hit Iran (WATCH)

Indian evacuees on Thursday expressed heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government for the timely and efficient efforts to help Indians stuck in the war-hit country.

As India continues to bring its nationals home from war-hit Iran under ‘Operation Sindhu’, evacuees on Thursday expressed heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government for the timely and efficient efforts to help Indians stuck in the war-hit country.

Recounting their ordeal, one evacuee returning from Iran told news agency ANI, “We are thankful to the government for bringing us back. If the situation had worsened there, it would have been difficult to return.”

Another Indian evacuee returning from Iran said, "I thank my government, especially the Prime Minister. We faced no difficulties. Both the Iranian and Indian governments treated us very well."

Operation Sindhu: 3,426 Indian nationals rescued so far from Iran

As part of Operation Sindhu, a special flight carrying 272 Indian nationals and three Nepalese citizens from Iran landed in New Delhi from Mashhad at 12:01 AM IST on June 26, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

With this latest evacuation, the total number of Indian nationals brought back from Iran under Operation Sindhu has reached 3,426.

"#OperationSindhu update: 272 Indian and 3 Nepalese nationals were evacuated from Iran on a special flight that arrived in New Delhi from Mashhad at 00:01 hrs on 26th June. 3426 Indian nationals have been brought home from Iran as part of #OperationSindhu," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X.

Nepalese nationals who were on board thanked the Indian government for evacuating them from conflict-hit Iran under the ongoing Operation Sindhu.

Earlier on Wednesday, a special flight carrying 296 Indian nationals and four Nepalese citizens had also landed safely in New Delhi. This brought the cumulative number of evacuees to 3,154 before the latest arrival.

Expressing gratitude, Nepalese national Gayatri Thapa said, "I have been in Iran for the last 10 years. The situation in Iran was very bad. It feels good to be back here. The Indian Government made a lot of arrangements for us and helped us a lot."

Utsav Thapa, another Nepalese evacuee and a student at Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan under the Indian Embassy in Iran, also thanked India. "I have been in Iran for the last 9 years... I am happy that I am going back to my country. Thank you, India. The Indian Embassy made arrangements for us."

Another evacuee, Sagal, who had lived in Iran for eight years, said, "We got a call from the Indian Embassy after the situation deteriorated. It feels great to be back. I want to thank the Indian Government and the Indian Embassy."

Indian nationals also shared their experiences of the conflict and praised the evacuation efforts. Syed Zeeshan Haider from Kanpur said, "I went to Iran to study. Due to the deteriorating conditions there, the Indian government evacuated us... People in Tehran were very scared due to the continuous attacks from Israel."

Syed Abbas from Gazipur added, “Our Embassy helped us a lot in the entire evacuation process. We were taken to Mashhad first and the Embassy was there with us on every step. I am thankful to our country for bringing us back here. I am really happy to be back.”

Operation Sindhu

Operation Sindhu was launched amidst the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, which had gripped the region for the past couple of weeks before a ceasefire was agreed on Tuesday.

The Indian Embassy in Iran has announced that it will be gradually winding down its evacuation exercise for Indian nationals, initiated after the escalated conflict in the region following Israel's military operations on the Islamic Republic, as a ceasefire deal was made between the two countries on Tuesday.

In a post on X, the Embassy detailed the closure of the contact desk set up for registering new names of Indian nationals for evacuation, while assuring continued monitoring of the security situation.

"Announcement from Embassy of India, Tehran: Since there has been an announcement of ceasefire, the Embassy is gradually winding up the evacuation exercise initiated during the military conflict in Iran. Hence the Embassy has closed the contact desk that was opened to register new names for evacuation. At the same time, Govt. of India is keeping a careful eye on the evolving situation & will reassess its strategy in case there is again a threat to the security of Indian nationals in Iran," the Embassy stated.

The Embassy advised Indian nationals currently in other parts of Iran, who were planning to travel to Iran's Mashhad for evacuation, to remain in their current locations and continue monitoring news updates and any revised advice from the Embassy.

For those who had already arrived in Mashhad in recent days and are staying in hotels arranged by the Embassy, it issued a directive to shift to the Sadr hotel in Iran by Wednesday (local time). "Those Indians who had already travelled to Mashhad in the last few days, and are staying in one of the hotels arranged by the Embassy, are requested to shift to Sadr hotel today itself, because the Embassy will be releasing the rooms in other hotels," the Embassy specified.

This came after US President Trump, on early Tuesday, announced a ceasefire agreement between the two conflict-gripped nations following Iran's attack on US military bases in Qatar and Iraq in response to the US strikes on its nuclear facilities.

(With inputs from ANI)