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2 min readNew DelhiApr 5, 2026 12:04 AM IST
Union Minister Piyush Goyal welcomes the fishermen who stranded in Iran amid the West Asia conflict, at Chennai Airport, in Chennai on Saturday. (@PiyushGoyal X/ANI Photo)
Amid heightened security concerns, 345 Indian fishermen arrived at Chennai airport on Saturday evening after being evacuated from Iran, via Armenia.
The flight from Armenia landed in Chennai as most of the fishermen were from Tamil Nadu.
Over 1,000 Indian fishermen — mostly from Tamil Nadu — are estimated to be presently employed in Iran. This was the first group to be transported from the southern part of Iran to the northern region, bordering Armenia, from where their crossing over to Armenia was facilitated by the Indian Missions in Tehran and Yerevan.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for facilitating the evacuation of the fishermen. “Thank FM Ararat Mirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen today from Iran, through Armenia to India,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.
More such groups of fishermen are expected to return in the coming days, as per sources, owing to escalating conflict in the region and consequent logistical challenges.
Over 1,150 Indian nationals have left Iran through land border crossings in Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of the West Asia conflict over a month ago, as per the Ministry of External Affairs.
On March 15, the first batch of Indian nationals from Iran arrived in New Delhi on a special commercial flight via Armenia. The flight carried 70 students — mostly from Jammu & Kashmir — and some pilgrims.
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Around 9,000 Indian citizens, mostly students, were known to have been stuck in Iran at the time the conflict started on February 28. This group included students, seafarers, business people, professionals and pilgrims. New Delhi has been helping its citizens in Iran leave the country through land routes to Azerbaijan and Armenia and then take commercial flights home.
The government is providing visa support and facilitating border crossings for Indians who want to travel through these neighbouring countries, MEA officials said.
Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
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