Nearly 900 Indian nationals, most of them students from Jammu and Kashmir, have crossed over from Iran to neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent days and some have already returned home, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday. Iranian refugees walk with their belongings after crossing the border from Iran to Armenia at a border check point in the southern Armenian town of Meghri, on March 8 (AFP FILE)
There were about 9,000 Indians in Iran when Israel and the US launched military strikes on the country on February 28, triggering a conflict that has widened over the past few weeks. With Iran’s airspace still closed, the Indian embassy has helped Indian nationals cross into Armenia and Azerbaijan and has also relocated hundreds of students from Tehran and Qom to safer locations.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing that 882 Indian nationals, including students, businesspeople and pilgrims, had so far crossed into Armenia and Azerbaijan.
This figure includes 772 Indians who crossed into Armenia, and 110 who entered Azerbaijan, he said. Several Indians have already returned from both countries, including most of a group of 284 pilgrims who crossed into Armenia.
Acknowledging that a large number of female students from Kashmir were waiting to cross over to Azerbaijan, Jaiswal said: “The Iranian border is easy to cross but you get stuck on the Azeri side.”
He said there are “some difficulties in terms of smooth flow” across the border to Azerbaijan because of the presence of a large number of people at the frontier. He reiterated an advisory from the Indian mission in Tehran, urging all Indian nationals to coordinate with the embassy to cross to Armenia and Azerbaijan smoothly.
People familiar with the matter said there are problems crossing into Azerbaijan, as the country allows only 10 Indian nationals through the land border every day. “Once they hit this number, others are turned back to the Iranian side. We are in touch with the Azeri side to address this issue,” a person said.
The people also said that many Indian students were attempting to cross into Azerbaijan because flights from that country were cheaper than those from Armenia.