Sri Lanka has sought assistance from  India to assist in evacuating its citizens in Iran, in view of the deteriorating security situation there.

Responding to the request, India has offered its assistance to evacuate Sri Lankan students from Iran under India’s Operation Sindhu, currently in progress.

Sri Lanka has been taking various steps over the last several days for the safety and security of Sri Lankan nationals in Iran.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka reached out to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, via the Indian High Commission in Colombo, requesting assistance for the evacuation of Sri Lankan nationals under Operation Sindhu. India has offered to assist in the process, so far as the Sri Lankan nationals can reach a location from where it is feasible to cross borders.

The two countries’ resident Embassies are in touch regarding the matter, sources said.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that they had information about 35 Sri Lankans in Iran.

Meanwhile, India saw the first batch of Indian nationals returning home from Iran under Operation Sindhu.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs stated that the Indian Embassy evacuated 110 Indian students from northern Iran and assisted them in safely crossing into Armenia on June 17, 2025. The students were then taken to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, from where a special flight brought them back to New Delhi in the early hours of 19 June 2025.