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Nearly 880 Indian nationals stranded in Iran amid the escalating West Asia conflict have begun returning home via Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday, with about 280 pilgrims already back in the country.

 

At a weekly briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said evacuation efforts were underway through multiple routes, with 772 Indians travelling via Armenia and 110 through Azerbaijan.

 

“These 882 Indian nationals, via Armenia and Azerbaijan, are expected to return, some have returned,” he said, adding that the group includes students, businesspersons and pilgrims.

 

Of the 284 pilgrims who had travelled to Iran, around 280 have already returned via Armenia, while the remaining are expected to arrive in the coming days.

 

Jaiswal said India had estimated around 9,000 nationals in Iran, although not all had registered with the embassy. Many students had returned before the conflict intensified.

 

The MEA’s control room, set up on March 4, remains operational, with helplines in embassies across the region functioning round the clock. Officials said distress calls have reduced significantly as evacuation efforts progressed.

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“We have a large number of students, including girl students from Kashmir who are getting medical education in Iran. We had issued an advisory… so they could help them in crossing the Iran-Azerbaijan border,” Jaiswal said.

 

The developments come amid a widening conflict in West Asia, which began on February 28 following strikes involving the United States and Israel on Iran, triggering retaliatory attacks by Tehran on Gulf-based targets.

 

The situation has raised global concerns, particularly after strikes on energy infrastructure, including facilities linked to Ras Laffan, which is critical for India’s liquefied natural gas imports.

 

Describing the crisis as a “testing time”, Jaiswal said India has been in touch with multiple global leaders to address the situation.

 

Additional Secretary (Gulf) Aseem R Mahajan said the government continues to closely monitor developments, with the safety and welfare of Indians remaining the top priority.

 

Since the outbreak of the conflict, around 2.8 lakh passengers have returned to India from the region, officials said.