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As tensions escalate between Israel and Iran, nine medical students from Karnataka currently studying in Tehran have appealed to the Indian government for urgent evacuation. The students, enrolled at the Shahid Beheshti Medical University, living in the Toufiq Alley, Zafraniya area of Tehran, are in fear as missile and drone strikes continue between the two nations.
Nadeem Hussain, one of the students, along with his parents in Bengaluru, contacted the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Forum Karnataka, a government-backed body, seeking help to return home.
Responding to the plea, Dr Aarti Krishna, Vice Chairperson of the NRI Forum Karnataka, has written to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) urging swift intervention on June 15.
“I am writing to request your help in evacuating nine Karnataka students stuck in Toufiq Alley, Zafraniya area, Tehran, Iran, who had gone there to study medicine. They are requesting urgent intervention from the Indian Embassy in Tehran and the Ministry of External Affairs to help them return back to India,” she wrote.
The students have been identified as Nadeem Hussain, Mir Naser Hussain, Syed Mohd Taqi, Mir Esam Reza, Abbas Askari, Syed Mohsin Reza, Maryam Fatima, Daniya Ulfat, and Abbas Ali.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and are in constant communication with concerned officials,” read the statement from NRI Forum Karnataka. The Forum added that the students’ location and safety status are being tracked through regular phone contact.
According to The Hindu, the Embassy of India in Tehran, in coordination with Iranian authorities, began relocating Indian students to safer locations on Monday, June 16. While Iran's closed airspace has made air evacuation currently unviable, a maritime evacuation plan via Bandar Abbas is reportedly under consideration.
Indian authorities are also said to be exploring overland routes through Iran’s borders with Azerbaijan, Armenia, and potentially Afghanistan. The Embassy has circulated a Google form to collect details of Indian citizens in Iran as part of its evacuation preparedness.