The Israel-Iran conflict soars with regional repercussions across West Asia. Israel and US is continuing its strikes on Iran leading to the death of high-ranking officials within the theocracy of Tehran. Israel is also targeting the Hezbollah terror bases in Lebanon with the goal of eliminating the terrorists. On the other hand, Iran is bombarding US military bases across West Asia in countries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman etc. Not just military bases, but the firing by Iran is indiscriminately hitting the civilian spaces across the gulf countries. As an impact, the sovereign airspaces are shut in the gulf region, with flights delayed and civilians stranded.
As the crisis scenario soars with no sign of de-escalation and cessation of hostilities, civilians and diaspora from across the globe locked in West Asia are striving for a route to return home. The citizens are urging their home nations to seek a way for repatriation as the conflict spikes and the airspaces shut. At such a critical juncture, the United States Embassy in Israel has outrightly expressed its inability to evacuate its citizens. It has also urged the Americans to make arrangements on their own for their safety and travel. The US Embassy in Jerusalem has issued an official statement emphasising that the diplomatic body is not in a position to assist its citizens in departing Israel.
This statement by the United States, apparently the most advanced country with state-of-the-art amenities and technology is expressing its inconvenience to evacuate the citizens who are locked in an helpless situation. The people are thus questioning the whole purpose and goal of the existence of diplomatic missions across the globe, if they cannot help their citizens during emergencies and other unforeseen circumstances. “The U.S. Embassy reminds U.S. citizens of the continued need for caution and increased personal security awareness – including knowing the location of the nearest shelter in the event of a red alert as security incidents, such as mortar, rocket and missile fire and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) intrusions, often take place without any warning”, the Embassy statement further added. Most importantly, the US has not assured the guarantee for the lives of the American citizens in Israel as the region is entangled in a steep crisis.
India ready to repatriate its citizens from West Asia
In sharp contrast to the statement by the United States, the Government of India has reiterated its responsibility to bring back the citizens who are stuck in Israel, Iran and other parts of West Asia. Union Minister Prahalad Joshi said that India is fully prepared to bring back Indians stranded in the gulf region. The Indian government is in constant touch with the diplomatic missions across West Asia to ensure the safety of the vast diaspora. Discussions are being held with the senior officials and concerned embassies to ensure the safe return of the Indians, the Minister added.
Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security(CCS) and discussed the developments in West Asia. PM Modi expressed concerns over the safety and security of the large expatriate community spread across Gulf nations. The CCS has directed all the departments of the government to take necessary and feasible measures to assist the Indian nationals in West Asia and to step up efforts for early evacuation. This shows the commitment of the Government of India to ensure the safety, security and safe repatriation of the Indian citizens as the crisis escalates. India, an emerging economy with a strong diaspora network across the globe ensures the safety and swift evacuation of its citizens.
The civil aviation Ministry on March 2, Monday confirmed that Indigo planes are set to operate 10 special relief flights from Saudi Arabia to various Indian cities on March 3, to evacuate the stranded passengers. Even Spicejet airlines will operate special flights from UAE to India to ensure safe evacuation of the Indian citizens. Currently, more than 10 million Indians are residing across the Gulf countries and India always strives to ensure their safety. During earlier crisis scenarios in West Asia, India has similarly successfully evacuated all the citizens. In June 2025, during the Israel-Iran conflict, India unveiled “Operation Sindu” to evacuate the stranded Indians across West Asia. Similarly, India launched “Operation Devi Shakti” to evacuate citizens from Afghanistan in 2021 and “Operation Ganga”, to secure Indians from the Russia-Ukraine war.
