Iran Opens its Airspace for India to Evacuate Indian Citizens
NEW DELHI, June 20: In a special gesture Iran has agreed to open for India its otherwise closed airspace to facilitate its chartered flights carrying Indian nationals in Iran to be flown back to Delhi amidst escalating conflict and continuing airstrikes by Israel.
The chartered flights carrying about 1,000 Indian nationals are expected to land in Delhi by Sunday.
The returning Indians, including students, professionals and tourists will travel in three or more flights operated by an Iranian airline company and organised by the Indian Embassy in Tehran. They will fly from Mashaad near the Iran-Uzbekistan border to Delhi, with the first flight arriving on Friday night, and others on Saturday and Sunday as required, Iran’s Acting Ambassador said at a press conference in Delhi.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said another chartered flight would bring over Indians who have already crossed over to Turkmenistan, and will fly from Ashgabat on Friday.
“The airspace is closed because of this issue [conflict with Israel] but we are making arrangements to open it for the safe passage of Indians, and we are doing our best to send Indian nationals wanting to leave, back safely,” said Mohammad Javed Hossaini, the Deputy Chief of Mission officiating.
He added that most of the 10,000 Indians in Iran have not been harmed by Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks over the past week, other than a few who were injured during a strike that hit a college hostel in Tehran.
Mr Hossaini called on India to join the international community, especially countries of the Global South, to pressure Israel to stop its aerial bombardment that entered an eighth day on Friday. Not “condemning” the Israeli government for its actions would “incentivise” other countries to carry out unilateral actions, he warned.
“We believe every country, including India, should condemn these aggressions, not because of Iran or because of this conflict, but because there are other also countries who in their mind [want] to attack a neighbour over baseless allegations. If you don’t condemn it [Israel’s actions], you are giving them incentive,” he said, citing Israel’s previous attacks on Lebanon and Syria in 2024.
The MEA has only issued one statement on the conflict so far, although it has commented separately on evacuation plans for Indians from Iran and Israel. In its June 14 statement, India had expressed “deep concern” about the strikes, called for “dialogue and diplomacy” to discuss de-escalating the conflict, and said it was monitoring the situation, especially the “reports related to attacks on nuclear sites.” The statement did not criticise either side.
India has disassociated itself from a statement by the Russia and China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that includes Iran, which criticised Israel for its “aggression.” In its statement, the MEA said India was not a part of the negotiations on the SCO release. When asked, Mr Hossaini denied that Iran was “disappointed” by India’s move. “We understand India’s position, but of course, our expectation is more,” he said.
The Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv is also working on a plan to evacuate Indians wishing to leave Israel, via the land routes to Jordan and Egypt, the MEA had said on Thursday.
(Manas Dasgupta)
