“We saw missiles in the sky and heard bombs in our neighbourhood… We were petrified,” said MBBS student Mir Khalif, his voice still trembling with fear, as he stepped out of Delhi airport. He was evacuated from war-hit Iran under Inda`s Operation Sindhu, news agency PTI reported.
Khalif arrived in the national capital early on Thursday on the first evacuation flight, which brought 110 Indian students back as part of a special operation launched by the Indian government in response to the escalating Iran-Israel war.
The students, including 90 from Jammu and Kashmir, had been moved from Tehran to Armenia earlier in the week as explosions and aerial attacks rocked Iranian cities. The Indian Embassy coordinated their rescue.
Khalif described his experience in Iran as a nightmare and thanked the Indian government for first evacuating them to Armenia and then bringing them back home to India.
“We saw missiles and heard bombings. It was a war zone. Our building shook during the attacks. I hope no student has to face what we did,” he said, according to PTI.
“There are still students stuck in Iran. They are being relocated to safer places. We hope they will also be airlifted to India soon,” he added.
Varta, a student from Kashmir, recalled the fear she had lived through.
“We were the first ones to be evacuated from Iran. The situation was quite critical. We were terrified. We thank the Indian government and the Indian Embassy, which worked very quickly and efficiently to bring us here,” PTI reported.
“Our neighbourhood was attacked. When the Indian government came to our doorstep, it felt like home,” she told PTI Videos.
Ali Akbar, another student from Delhi, said the destruction was visible everywhere.
“We saw a missile and a drone fall from the sky while travelling on a bus. Tehran is in ruins. The images on the news are real; the situation is very bad,” he said.
Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh met the students at Delhi airport.
Later, in a post on X, he stated, “Warmly welcomed home the first group of 110 Indian nationals evacuated from Iran as part of Operation Sindhu, reaffirming India`s steadfast commitment to the safety and well-being of its citizens abroad.”
Singh also shared photographs of the Indian nationals arriving at the airport.
Meanwhile, Singh confirmed that evacuation efforts under Operation Sindhu are ongoing, with more flights scheduled.
“We have planes ready. We will be sending another plane today. We are evacuating some more people from Turkmenistan. Our missions have opened 24-hour helplines for any evacuation request. As the situation evolves, we will be sending more planes to evacuate Indian nationals,” he explained.
Following the safe return of the Indian students, the Union minister thanked the governments in Turkmenistan and Armenia for their support.
Officials on Wednesday had said that the first evacuation flight of Indian nationals being moved out of Iran was due to arrive in India from the Armenian capital of Yerevan in the early hours of June 19.
At Delhi airport, several parents anxiously waited to reunite with their children.
Haider Ali, father of MBBS student Maaz Haider, said, “We are happy and grateful, but our hearts are still heavy knowing that many students are still stuck in Tehran. We urge the government to bring them back too,” according to the PTI.
Parvez Alam from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, whose son studied in Urmia, said, “We were under constant stress. The students were shifted to Armenia and looked after well. We thank the government for this.” The Jammu and Kashmir Students` Association also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for the evacuation.
“We remain hopeful that all remaining students will be evacuated soon,” the association said in a statement.
(With inputs from PTI)