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Indian students stranded in Iran allowed to leave through land borders
Parents in India are desperately trying to be in touch with the stranded students, but many cannot contact them because of irregular telecommunication links
- PUBLISHED: Mon 2 Mar 2026, 3:39 PM
[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid Israeli, US strikes on Iran for the latest regional developments.]
Indian students stranded in Iran are hopeful of leaving the country by road and heading back home via Armenia or Azerbaijan. About 1,200 Indian students, mostly from Jammu & Kashmir, are still in Iran and were reluctant to leave because of fears of missing out on exams.
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But reports in the local media in Iran indicate that the government and the universities will let them sit for the term-end exams and also defend their doctoral thesis later when they return to the country.
Faizan Nabi, the Iran coordinator of the J&K Students Association, who is doing his medical degree, told Indian media that almost half of the Indian students in Iran had returned home after their embassy issued an advisory last month, suggesting they leave the country.
Last week, the Indian embassy in Tehran again issued an advisory, urging Indians in the country to avoid unnecessary movement and stay indoors. Nabi said parents in India are desperately trying to be in touch with the stranded students, but many cannot contact them because of irregular telecommunication links
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Besides the J&K Students Association, the All India Medical Students Association has also urged the Indian government to ensure the safe travel of Indian students from Iran. Almost 2,000 Indian students were enrolled in medical colleges in Iran. Most of them study there because of affordable tuition fees, good medical infrastructure, proximity to India and easy admissions to universities, unlike in India.
Some of the Indian students in Iran have been urging the Indian government on social media to ensure their safe return home.
Said Ayesha, one of the students in Iran, posted on X: “We are hearing bomb sounds every 15 minutes. It is very disturbing here. When our embassy gave us the advisory to leave, our university didn’t cooperate. They said if you leave you will fail.” But she felt it was difficult to leave Iran because there are no flights to India or other countries.
India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said that there were nearly 10,000 Indians in Iran including students, workers, business persons and tourists.
In June laster, following Israeli and American attacks on Iran, India evacuated almost 3,600 Indians from Iran, under Operation Sindhu. But this time, the government has not yet initiated any such operations because of the intensity of the bombings.
(With inputs from ANI)
