New Delhi, April 4 — External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday expressed gratitude to Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for helping evacuate Indian fishermen from Iran via Armenia back to India. Jaishankar posted his thanks on X, acknowledging Armenia’s role in the operation.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Armenia has been assisting in moving Indian nationals out of Iran. In total, about 1,200 Indian citizens have been evacuated, with 996 flown to Armenia and 204 to Azerbaijan. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, speaking at an inter-ministerial briefing, noted that roughly 845 of those evacuated are students. The MEA is coordinating closely on the ground and working with Indian missions and local authorities in both Armenia and Azerbaijan to ensure safe transit and onward travel to India.
The ministry has made arrangements to support evacuees while they are in transit. Since February 28, more than 600,000 passengers from the region have returned to India; Aseem R Mahajan, Additional Secretary (Gulf) at the MEA, put the figure at about 624,000. Airlines continue to operate limited non-scheduled flights based on safety and operational considerations, and around 90 flights from the UAE to various Indian destinations were expected on Saturday.
The recent crisis in West Asia escalated from February 28 with strikes and subsequent retaliatory actions that disrupted Gulf airspace and prompted large-scale evacuations.
