The Indian embassy in Tehran has relocated some Indian expats to safer places within Iran in the face of Israel’s airstrikes that have made evacuation a risky proposition.
Two Kashmiri medical students in Iran have reportedly suffered minor injuries in an Israeli strike near their dormitory.
In a statement early on Monday morning, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said the embassy in Tehran was continuously monitoring the security situation and engaging Indian students in Iran to ensure their safety.
“In some cases, students are being relocated with the embassy’s facilitation to safer places within Iran. Other feasible options are also under consideration,” the statement said.
Given the closure of Iranian airspace, India is said to be exploring the possibility of evacuation through land borders amid reports that Tehran would facilitate this. It, however, remains a risky option as Iran and Israel continue with their air raids.
Jaishankar spoke to his counterpart in Armenia, a country with which Iran shares a border, on Monday but did not divulge any details. All he said in a social media post was: “Spoke with FM @AraratMirzoyan of Armenia. Discussed ongoing developments in the region and our close cooperation.”
A Kashmiri student at a medical college in Tehran has uploaded a video in which she says two students in the boys’ dormitory suffered mild injuries in an Israeli attack. She has urged lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and chief minister Omar Abdullah to use their offices to ensure that the Indian students are relocated.
“Before it happens with us, please relocate us. Our water supply has been hit, Internet is down and WiFi is very weak. We fear electricity will also be snapped and we won’t be able to communicate,” she says.
Nasir Khuehami, national convener of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, said an Israeli strike near the boys’ dormitory for international students at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences had left a student from Srinagar and another from Budgam injured.
“They have suffered minor injuries and have been shifted to hospital. Their parents here are extremely traumatised. We have written to the Prime Minister urging him to evacuate students from the affected universities,” Khuehami, who put the number of students from Jammu and Kashmir in Iran at 1300, said.
Omar spoke to Jaishankar on Sunday night and requested him to help the stranded students.