JAKARTA - India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a June 25 advisory that Indian nationals should avoid non-essential travel to Iran until further notice, even after the Embassy of India in Tehran cited “recent positive developments” and an improvement in the country’s overall security situation.
The advisory applies to Indian citizens considering travel to Iran, Indians already living in the country and those who may need to travel there for unavoidable functional reasons.
“Indian nationals are advised to continue to avoid all non-essential travel to Iran until further notice,” the embassy said. It also advised Indian citizens in Iran to exercise a high degree of caution, remain vigilant, track local developments through credible sources and follow instructions from local authorities.
The embassy asked Indian nationals in Iran, and those arriving in Iran, to register their particulars with the mission at the earliest opportunity. India’s latest diaspora data listed 9,488 overseas Indians in Iran as of January, including 9,000 non-resident Indians and 488 persons of Indian origin.
The revised advisory stops short of telling Indians to leave Iran immediately. That marks a shift from the embassy’s June 8 notice, which advised all Indian nationals to avoid any travel to Iran and told those already in the country to exit by available means of transport.
Reuters reported on June 24 that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency had extended its conflict-zone advisory until July 1 and warned airlines to avoid airspace over Iran, Iraq and Lebanon because ceasefire violations remained possible, especially around the Strait of Hormuz and neighbouring airspace.
Maritime security around Iran also remained unsettled after the advisory was revised. Reuters reported further on June 25 that a United Nations-linked effort to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz had been paused after a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel came under attack near Oman.
