A bus sent to evacuate 120 Indian medical students studying at Urmia University in Iran could not leave due to bureaucratic hurdles.
The Indian embassy in Tehran had arranged for a bus to evacuate the Indian students to Armenia after Israel started bombarding Iranian cities last week.
"The Indian embassy did send a bus to evacuate us along with an Indian embassy official," confirms Sabah Rasool, an Indian student, speaking to rediff.com from Urmia province in Iran, "but Urmia University is not giving us permission to leave."
"They want an okay from Iran's foreign ministry before letting us leave the campus," adds Sabah, a fourth year medical student at Urmia University and a native of Kashmir.
Asked if she had heard or witnessed an Israeli attack on Urmia province, Sabah says, "Last week an Israeli missile hit Urmia province. Luckily, it did not hit us."
Iranian news media Iran International reported that four Islamic Revolutionary Guards were killed in an Israeli attack that targeted Al-Mahdi garrison in the northwestern city of Urmia.
Not taking any chances, the Indian government plans to evacuate all the Indian students studying in Urmia to Armenia before the situation gets out of hand.
About 1,500 Indian students study in universities in various Iranian cities like Tehran, Qom, Isfahan, Shiraz, Araz and Urmia; most of them hail from Kashmir.
'Just spoke to @DrSJaishankar regarding the situation in Iran, particularly the welfare & safety of Kashmiri students in the country,' J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted.
'The Hon Minister assured me that @MEAIndia is in close contact with their counterparts in Iran & will take all necessary steps to safeguard all Indian students in Iran.'
In a statement posted on X last week, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote, 'The Indian embassy in Teheran is continuously monitoring the security situation and engaging Indian students in Iran to ensure their safety.'
'In some cases, students are being relocated with the embassy's facilitation to safer places within Iran. Other feasible options are also under examination.'
"The Indian embassy told us that they have arranged for a hostel for us in Armenia," says Shaikh Tahir Jamal, another Indian student who is doing his third year of medicine at Urmia University.
"We have no idea which city in Armenia we will go to or how many days we will stay there."
"All over Iran educational institutions have shut down due to the war," adds Tahir. "Exams have been postponed, new dates will be announced later."
Meanwhile, the Indian embassy was successful in evacuating students from Tehran to Qom.
"Tehran is being evacuated. We are a group of 30 students and the Indian embassy is taking us to Qom for our safety," says Syeeda Farwah Zainab who studies at Shahid Beheshti University in the Iranian capital. "Iranians have also been told to evacuate the city."
"We heard blasts yesterday (Sunday, June 15, 2025). Our exams were to be held, but I don't think it is possible till a ceasefire is declared."
© 2025