Indian nationals urged to avoid travel to Iran amid security concerns
An travel advisory that was issued on Wednesday said, "In view of the security-related developments over the past several weeks, Indian nationals are advised to carefully consider the evolving situation before undertaking non-essential travel to Iran."
the Indian Embassy also "advised to continue to monitor the latest regional developments and follow updated advisories issued by the Indian authorities."
The embassy also said that there are options available for return for Indian nationals who are currently in Iran. "Indian nationals already in Iran, and interested in leaving, may avail the commercial flight and ferry options which are available right now," it said.
This comes amid the rise in regional hostilities that began with Israel's launch of 'Operation Rising Lion' on June 13, bombing Iranian military and nuclear facilities.
In response, Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks against Israeli targets. The United States, in support strong for Israel, retaliated with attacks on key Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan on June 22.
The Iranian Armed Forces launched retaliatory strikes, targeting key positions across the Israeli-occupied territories and on the US military airbase in Qatar.
The 12-day war came to an end on June 24 when Israel declared a unilateral halt to its aggression, announced on its behalf by US President Donald Trump.
Washington maintains that Iran's uranium enrichment programme could lead to developing nuclear bombs, while Tehran has consistently denied the claim, insisting that its nuclear programme is meant for civilian purposes.
In July 2015, the Iran nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed between Iran and several world powers, including the United States. The agreement capped Tehran's enrichment level at 3.67 per cent and reduced its uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms.
The deal collapsed in 2018 with Trump's unilateral withdrawal of the US from the accord. Since then, Iran has started exceeding agreed-upon limits to its stockpile of low-enriched uranium in 2019, and began enriching uranium to higher concentrations up to 60 per cent purity, which is very close to the weapons-grade level.
(With inputs from agencies)
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