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 5:31 AM IST on June 26, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
With this latest evacuation, the total number of Indian nationals brought back from Iran under Operation Sindhu has reached 3,426.".
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. .
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."
Indian nationals also shared their experiences of the conflict and praised the evacuation efforts. Syed Abbas from Gazipur said , "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 was launched in response to the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel over the past few weeks. The evacuation efforts continued until a ceasefire agreement was reached on Tuesday. (ANI)