India working to bring back students from Iran: MEA

New Delhi [India], March 19 (ANI): India is working to facilitate the return of its nationals from Iran, including students stranded amid the ongoing conflict in the West Asia, the MEA said on Thursday.
Addressing a briefing in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said a large number of Indian students, including many from Kashmir studying medicine, are currently in Iran, and efforts are underway to help them return safely.
"We have a large number of students, including girls from Kashmir who are studying medical education in Iran. We are trying our best," Jaiswal said.
He urged Indian nationals attempting to leave Iran through land routes to first contact the Indian embassy to ensure a smooth evacuation process.
"We had told everybody that before you reach the Azerbaijan border, please get in touch with the embassy so that they can help you cross the border," he said.
"It is important that all Indian nationals who desire to cross the land border first get in touch with our embassy so that the process is smooth. Hopefully, over the next few days, all of them will be coming back home," he added.
Providing an estimate of the number of Indians in Iran, Jaiswal said many nationals do not register with the embassy, making it difficult to determine exact figures.
"Some people don't register themselves with the embassy. So, our estimate was 9,011. Many of those students had returned before the attack began," he said.
He added that several Indian nationals are currently scheduled to return through neighbouring countries.
"Recently, about 882 Indian citizens, including students, some businesspeople, and pilgrims from here, are scheduled to return via Azerbaijan and Armenia," Jaiswal said.
According to the MEA, most Indian pilgrims who had travelled to Iran have already returned.
"Of the 284 pilgrims who went, 280 have returned. They came via Armenia. 3-4 more will also return in a day or two," he added.
Jaiswal also addressed concerns about Indian seafarers working in the region, particularly around the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
"We have a large community of seafarers, possibly the largest in the world. Ninety per cent of our seafaring community workers serve global commercial shipping," he said.
He noted that there are 22 ships in the area carrying Indian seafarers.
"We have 22 ships. On those 22 ships, we have 611 seafarers. In addition, we also have seafarers across the region. We are in touch with their companies," he added.
The spokesperson said some seafarers injured during the conflict have already returned or are on their way back to India.
"Several seafarers have also come back. For example, 15 seafarers who were injured have come back to India or will be arriving in India shortly. Similarly, seafarers from other parts of that region have also been coming back," he said. (ANI)