India Tells Its Citizens: Get Out of Iran Now
The Indian government has put out a pretty serious travel warning telling all Indians in Iran to leave the country straight away because things are getting dodgy fast. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Tehran have made it clear that keeping Indian citizens safe is what matters most, given all the trouble kicking off and tensions getting worse in the region.
Indian students, business folk, pilgrims and tourists are being told to get out however they can—by commercial flights or whatever's going—and to keep the Indian Embassy in the loop so they can get help and updates. This warning follows earlier advice from early January that just said to be careful and avoid travelling, but they've ramped it up now because of what's happening on the ground.
The advisory is basically saying Indian nationals should:
Stay well away from any protests or demonstrations, which have spread all over the place and are sometimes turning nasty.
Keep important documents like passports and ID within easy reach.
Stay in touch with the Indian Embassy in Tehran for advice and help.
This is all happening whilst massive protests have been going on across Iran for the past three weeks now. People are fed up with the economy being rubbish and politics being a mess. Iranian authorities have come down hard on the protests, which has led to a fair few casualties and unrest in several cities.
On top of all that, things are getting tense on a bigger scale as well. The United States has also been urgently telling Americans to get out of Iran, because they're worried the whole situation could blow up even more—there's even been talk in some circles about possible military action and relations between countries going completely down the pan as talks have ground to a halt.
India's warning shows just how seriously they're taking this. It's not just about the protests and immediate safety concerns—they're also worried about what might happen across the wider region if things between the United States and Iran get even worse.
Basically, the Indian government is saying to its people in Iran: choose safety and get out whilst you still can, because protests are spreading and there's a real risk of things getting even more unstable.