India evacuates 350 stranded fishermen from Iran to Chennai via Armenia

[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.]

Nearly 350 Indian fishermen, who have been working in Iran for many years and were stranded because of the ongoing war, arrived in Chennai on Saturday night from Armenia.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the fishermen were brought back as part of the efforts to ensure the safety of its nationals in the conflict-hit region.

Of the 1,200 Indians who have been safely evacuated from Iran, almost a thousand were moved to Armenia and brought back home.

It took about 20 hours to reach Armenia before returning home to India. While most of the fishermen were from Tamil Nadu, there were a few from Kerala, Gujarat, Odisha and Puducherry as well.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

'Joyous day'

Commerce minister Piyush Goyal, who welcomed the fishermen at the Chennai airport, told the media that it was “a joyous day” for the families of the fishermen. “It was a difficult journey for them,” said Goyal. “They had to travel 20 hours to Armenia and other countries. Officials worked day and night to bring them to Armenia and back home.”

Many of the fishermen had suffered following the outbreak of war, which resulted in the suspension of operations of the Iranian owned fishing boats where they worked. Besides confiscated passports, they also did not get their wages and had minimal food supplies.

S. Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan on ‘X’: “Thank you FM Ararat Mirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen today from Iran, through Armenia to India,” he said.

MEA noted that since February 28, the government coordinated with private operators to bring back 1,200 nationals from Iran using charter flights.

While most of the Indians from Iran have been brought home via Armenia, a few have also travelled to Azerbaijan before returning to India.

MEA said 200 Indians have flown in from Azerbaijan. “We thank the authorities in Armenia and Azerbaijan for their support in facilitating the safe transit of Indian nationals from Iran,” an MEA spokesperson told the media.