India on Thursday advised its citizens not to travel to Iran by air or land, following reports that some flights between the two countries had resumed.
The Indian Embassy in Tehran, in its latest advisory, also said that the "airspace restrictions and operational uncertainties due to regional tensions continue to affect international flight operations to and from Iran".
"In view of reports of commencement of some flights between India and Iran, and in continuation of earlier advisories, Indian citizens are strongly advised not to travel to Iran, whether by air or land," the embassy said.
See the post here
It urged all Indian nationals currently in Iran to leave the country through designated land border routes in coordination with the embassy.
The embassy also provided emergency contact numbers (989128109115, 989128109109, 989128109102 and 989932179359) and email (cons.tehran@mea.gov.in) for those in need.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday extended the ceasefire with Iran, reportedly at Pakistan’s request, to allow Tehran’s leadership more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the conflict. The announcement came just hours before the original two-week ceasefire was due to expire.
According to official figures, about 9,000 Indians, including students, were in Iran when the conflict began on 28 February, and around 1,800 have since returned to India.
The war started after a joint US and Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February, which killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior commanders, prompting retaliatory strikes that widened the conflict across the Gulf region.
Middle East war: What's latest?
Trump said he ordered the military to “shoot and kill” Iranian small boats that are disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as the US steps up mine-clearing operations in the strategic waterway. The announcement further escalated tensions between Washington and Tehran in the Persian Gulf and raised doubts about ongoing efforts to end the conflict.
Separately, Trump said that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend a ceasefire involving Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks following talks at the White House. The meeting marked the second round of high-level discussions between the two sides in a week. The original 10-day ceasefire, which began last Friday, was set to expire on Monday.
Here's what experts say
Washington views Tehran as a more serious military threat than US adversaries in the Western Hemisphere, which is why it maintains a long-term military presence far from American territory.
Iran's leverage over the Strait of Hormuz gives it power during a shaky ceasefire because the widening economic risks - especially higher US gas prices in an election year - could force Trump's Republican administration to end its blockade on Iran's ports and coastline, experts say, as reported by AP.
"It's really a question now of which country, the US or Iran, has a greater pain tolerance," said Max Boot, a military historian and senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, AP reported.
Trump has repeatedly said during the ceasefire that began on 8 April that his administration is in talks with Iranian officials who are interested in reaching a deal, adding that his decision to target several senior Iranian leaders created some complications.
Earlier this week, he said the truce would be extended to give Iran’s weakened leadership more time to prepare a “unified proposal” aimed at ending the conflict.
(With inputs from agencies)
