PM Chairs Late-Night Security Meet on West Asia Tensions
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi began chairing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) late Sunday night after returning from Tamil Nadu to assess the conflict in the oil-rich West Asian region, where thousands of Indian citizens work and is vital to India’s energy security.
India is closely monitoring the situation following the killing of Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Khamenei in joint American-Israeli attacks and Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries, including India’s close partner the UAE. Until late Sunday night, India had not officially expressed any specific reaction to the killing of the Iranian religious leader.
Meanwhile, severe disruption in the aviation sector continued and the civil aviation ministry said, “Due to airspace restrictions, a total of 350 flights operated by Indian domestic carriers were canceled on Sunday. As many as 410 such flights were canceled early on Saturday, leaving many stranded at airports across the region.”
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar met his counterparts in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait early on Sunday and with his counterparts in Oman late on Sunday evening. Earlier in the day, the Iranian Embassy in India confirmed the death of its religious leader, calling on “independent and freedom-seeking governments around the world to strongly condemn the murder” and “to refrain from remaining silent in the face of lawlessness and aggression”.
The UAE also confirmed that an Indian citizen was injured in Iranian drone strikes; Following this, the Indian Embassy said that the Indian citizen was not in danger and Indian diplomats were in contact with hospital officials. Meanwhile, New Delhi has issued an advisory stating that “all foreign nationals in India who have to change their travel plans due to the ongoing developments in the West Asian region and require assistance in extending their visa or arranging their stay are requested to contact the nearest Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) who will assist with the necessary formalities.”
According to reports, several thousand Indian students are stranded in Iran and are currently desperate for evacuation from Iran considering the high tension in the region and Israeli missiles raining down on the country. Although the Indian Embassy in Tehran asked all Indian citizens to leave the country immediately last Monday, most did not do so.
An Indian medical student from Kashmir told news agencies that he could not act on the recommendations because his university in Iran had threatened him with failing exams if he left. There are also thousands of Indian citizens working and living in Israel, as well as hundreds of thousands of Indian workers working in Gulf Arab countries.
