First commercial flights from Iran land in Delhi amid unrest, India stays on alert

New Delhi: The first two commercial flights carrying Indian nationals from Iran landed in Delhi late on Thursday night, a day after violent protests erupted against the regime led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

While the arrivals were on regular commercial services and not part of any formal evacuation operation, the Government of India has said it remains fully prepared to respond to any contingency and continues to closely monitor the evolving situation.

Earlier, Indian authorities had advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, even as diplomatic missions remained in constant touch with Indians living there. Flight operations had briefly been disrupted on January 15 after Iran temporarily closed its airspace amid heightened tensions.

With air traffic resuming, several Indians chose to return home, although officials say the situation in Tehran and other cities now appears to be gradually stabilising.

Indians who returned to Delhi expressed relief and thanked the government for extending timely guidance during the crisis. The Indian Embassy in Tehran had issued advisories and maintained contact with Indian pilgrims, tourists, students and businesspersons, offering assistance and updates as the situation unfolded.

An MBBS student who returned from Iran said she had heard about the protests but did not witness them directly. “There was no internet connectivity, so we could not verify information or communicate freely. I personally did not see protests, but there was anxiety because of the uncertainty,” she said.

Another Indian national, who had been in Iran for about a month, said the situation worsened only in the past two weeks. “When we went out, protesters would come in front of our vehicle and cause some trouble. Internet services were down, which made it impossible to inform our families. We were anxious because we could not even reach the Indian embassy initially,” he said.

An electrical engineer who had travelled to Iran for work said conditions have since improved. “For a short period, the biggest problem was the network outage. People were worried.

There were incidents of fire and protests that looked dangerous, but the number of anti-government protesters was relatively small compared to those supporting the administration,” he noted, adding that normalcy was slowly returning in Tehran.

According to reports, large-scale protests against the Khamenei administration have intensified over the past two weeks, with estimates suggesting nearly 3,000 people have been killed in the unrest.

The situation has been further aggravated by sharp rhetoric between the United States and Iran, with threats exchanged between US President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders raising fears of a wider military confrontation.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that around 60 Kashmiri students and pilgrims who were stranded in Iran also reached Delhi during the night. Indian authorities reiterated that while no evacuation has been announced so far, all necessary arrangements are in place should the security situation deteriorate further.

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