New Delhi: On Sunday, India successfully evacuated over 300 of its citizens from Iran as tensions escalate between Iran and Israel following recent US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), a total of 311 Indian nationals arrived in Delhi on a special flight from Mashhad, Iran.

This latest evacuation brings the total number of Indians brought back from Iran to 1,428.

The flight carrying 311 individuals landed in New Delhi at 4:30 PM on June 22, as confirmed by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

In response to the increasing hostilities, India initiated Operation Sindhu last week to facilitate the return of its nationals from both Iran and Israel.

Since the conflict began over a week ago, Israel and Iran have exchanged numerous missile and drone strikes targeting each other's cities and military installations.

The situation intensified significantly after the US bombed three key Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning.

India has been conducting evacuations using chartered flights from Mashhad, Yerevan (Armenia), and Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) since Wednesday.

To support these operations, Iran lifted airspace restrictions on Friday, allowing three chartered flights to operate from Mashhad.

The first evacuation flight arrived in New Delhi late Friday, carrying 290 Indians, followed by another flight on Saturday with 310 passengers.

Additionally, a flight from Yerevan and another from Ashgabat landed in New Delhi early Saturday morning.