‘Do Not Travel To Iran, Israel Until Further Notice’: Govt Issues Advisory For Indians

The external affairs ministry on Friday advised all Indians against travelling to Iran or Israel until further notice in view of the security situation in the region. It also asked Indians residing there to get in touch with respective embassies and register themselves.

“In view of the prevailing situation in the region, all Indians are advised not to travel to Iran or Israel till further notice. All those who are currently residing in Iran or Israel are requested to get in touch with Indian Embassies there and register themselves,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

“They are also requested to observe utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to the minimum,” it further added.

The French government also warned French nationals against travelling to Iran, Israel, Lebanon or the Palestinian territories, after the US embassy in Israel announced it was restricting the movements of its diplomats over security fears. German airline Lufthansa extended a temporary suspension of flights to and from Tehran until Saturday.

A report by US-based broadcaster CBS News said that Iran will attack Israel as soon as Friday with more than 100 drones and dozens of missiles targeting its military resources.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said late Thursday he had received phone calls from German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as well as her British and Australian counterparts.

In a post on X, the Iranian minister said he had told them that “when the Zionist regime breaches the immunity of diplomatic persons and places” and the UN Security Council fails to condemn it, “legitimate defence… is a necessity”.

He added that “Iran does not seek to expand the scope of the war.”

An official close to the Iranian leadership told US newspaper The Wall Street Journal that no final decision has been made but plans to attack are being drawn up. The person said Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini is surveying the attack plans.

“The strike plans are in front of the Supreme Leader and he is still weighing the political risk,” the aforementioned person said.

Iran has vowed retaliation after an Israeli strike that killed seven members of Tehran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, including two generals, in Syria earlier this month.

Among the dead were generals Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, both senior commanders in the Quds Force, the IRGC’s foreign operations arm.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei again warned Israel Wednesday that it “will be punished” for a Damascus air strike that killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.

“The evil regime made a mistake in this regard. It must be punished and will be punished,” Khamenei said in a televised speech after Eid al-Adha prayers in Tehran.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz swiftly riposted with a Persian-language statement on social media site X.

“If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran,” he said.

Germany and Russia have asked both nations to exercise restraint.

(with additional inputs from AFP)