In a major humanitarian and diplomatic success, India has evacuated nearly 3,000 of its citizens from conflict-affected regions in Iran and Israel under Operation Sindhu, the large-scale evacuation mission launched last week amid escalating tensions in West Asia.

Using C-17 heavy-lift aircraft of the Indian Air Force and chartered civilian flights, the government facilitated the safe return of Indian nationals, many of whom had been stranded due to closed airspaces and regional missile strikes.

By Tuesday morning, the latest group of 161 Indians who had crossed the Israeli border into Jordan by road landed in New Delhi at 8:20 am aboard a chartered flight from Amman. They were warmly welcomed by Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita, as confirmed by MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on social media.

Shortly after, a C-17 aircraft carrying 165 more evacuees from Amman landed in New Delhi at 8:45 am, where Minister of State L. Murugan received the returnees. Another large group of nearly 300 Indians, who crossed into Egypt via the Taba border, were airlifted from Sharm-el-Sheikh aboard another IAF aircraft.

Officials said that some of the flights from Jordan were delayed due to airspace restrictions imposed by several West Asian countries following Iranian missile attacks late Monday, which disrupted regional flight schedules.

The evacuations from Iran also continued smoothly. A chartered flight carrying 292 Indians from Mashhad landed in New Delhi at 3:30 am on Tuesday, taking the total number of Indian citizens evacuated from Iran alone to 2,295 since last week.

India had earlier advised its citizens in Israel to exit via land borders to Egypt and Jordan, from where dedicated airlifts were being organized. In Iran, many Indians were first moved by road to Armenia before authorities allowed direct flights from Mashhad, following the easing of airspace controls last Friday in what was described as a “special gesture” from Iranian authorities.