Another special flight carrying 285 Indian nationals stranded in conflict-hit Iran landed safely in New Delhi on Sunday night, taking the total number of people evacuated under Operation Sindhu to 1,713, news agency ANI reported.

This marked the eighth batch of Indians repatriated as part of the government's ongoing evacuation efforts. The special flight arrived from Mashhad, Iran, and landed in New Delhi at 11.30 pm. Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, received the group at the airport, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

In a post on X, the MEA wrote: “India's evacuation efforts continue under Operation Sindhu. MoS Shri Pabitra Margherita received 285 Indian nationals evacuated on a special flight from Mashhad that landed in New Delhi at 2330 hrs on 22 June. With this, 1,713 Indian nationals have now been brought home from Iran.”