As massive anti-government protests continued in Iran for the third week, a student from Hyderabad, Telangana, was stranded in the Islamic Republic. Asaduddin Owaisi reposted the student’s parent’s post on social media and urged EAM Jaishankar to evacuate her.
On Wednesday, India asked all its nationals residing in Iran to leave the country by all means possible and avoid any travel to the country, as tensions over possible US military intervention rose after Tehran cracked down on nationwide protests that reportedly killed over 2,500 people.
Who is the Indian student stuck in Iran?
The student is a resident of Noorkhan Bazar in Darulshifa, Hyderabad. She is currently enrolled at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran as per her father’s X contribution.
Responding to a father’s request to evacuate his daughter “before the situation worsens”, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has X-marked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The Hyderabad MP said in the post, “Mr @DrSJaishankar, I request your urgent attention to evacuate this Indian student (Ayman Fatima) who is stranded in Tehran, Iran. Her passport is with university authorities; she has not been in touch with her family and her father is currently in UAE. Kindly intervene as soon as possible.”
According to estimates by news channel PTI, a little over 10,000 Indians, including students, are currently living in Iran.
The father’s plea comes amid deadly protests in Iran that began on December 28 and called for the ouster of the government led by Ayatollah Khamenei.
Iran signals plans for executions amid protests
As protests continued to rage across Iran, authorities in the Islamic Republic reportedly said on Wednesday they expected speedy trials and executions of suspects detained in protests despite US President Donald Trump’s warning that the nation “will take action” over the killing of peaceful protesters.
According to the AP, a US official said some employees of a key US military base in Qatar had been advised to evacuate by Wednesday evening, a decision that came as a senior official in Iran cited an earlier Iranian attack there.
In a post on X, the US State Department said the man identified as Erfan Soltani could be executed on Wednesday. The development was later confirmed to CNN by a relative of the 26-year-old.
According to the Norwegian human rights group Hengaw, Soltani was reportedly arrested from his home last Thursday in connection with protests in the city of Fardis in Iran’s central Karaj province. Four days later, his family was informed that his execution was scheduled.
CNN reported that Soltani’s family was denied details of the case, including the charges against him, and was only allowed a brief final visit before the execution, citing Hengawa.
