India evacuates citizens from Iran, extends help to Nepal, Sri Lanka

India is evacuating all its citizens from Iran, the Indian mission here said on Saturday, amid Iran's ongoing conflict with Israel.

In a post on X, the Indian Embassy here provided emergency contact numbers and a link to a Telegram channel.

"The Indian Embassy in Iran is evacuating all Indian Nationals in Iran. The Embassy may be contacted either on the Telegram channel or over the emergency contact numbers. +989010144557, +989128109115 +989128109109," it said.

In another post, the embassy said that its evacuation efforts will also cover citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka.

"On request of the Governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Indian Embassy's evacuation efforts in Iran will also cover Citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka," it said.

"The citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka may urgently reach out to the Embassy, either on the Telegram channel or over the emergency contact numbers. +989010144557; +989128109115; +989128109109," it added.

In Colombo, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry also advised its citizens in Iran to contact the Indian Embassy in Tehran if they wish to leave the country.

The government of Sri Lanka has made arrangements with the government of India to assist Sri Lankans who wish to leave Iran by accommodating them in the flights, the ministry said in an official release.

According to the Foreign Ministry, there are less than 100 Sri Lankan nationals in Iran, while some 20,000 are employed in Israel.

In Kathmandu, Nepal's Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba's secretariat said she requested the Indian government to rescue 16 Nepalese nationals who were stranded in Iran.

Foreign Minister Deuba requested the Indian government, through Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava, to include the Nepali nationals during the evacuation of Indians from Iran.

Deuba took to X to thank External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for India's swift assistance.

Thank you @DrSJaishankar for India's swift assistance in helping to evacuate Nepali nationals from Iran. India's support in Nepal's evacuation efforts is a reflection of the strength of Nepal-India ties, Deuba wrote.

Of the 16 Nepali nationals, five are currently in Iranian prisons due to immigration-related offences, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, adding, efforts are underway to secure their release and repatriation as part of the evacuation process.

India on Wednesday announced the launch of "Operation Sindhu" to evacuate its nationals from Iran after its conflict with Israel, which has entered its second week, showed no sign of letting up.

On Saturday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that over 500 Indian nationals have returned home from Iran under Operation Sindhu so far.