At least 882 Indian nationals stranded in Iran, including students, business professionals and pilgrims, are making their way back home through Azerbaijan and Armenia, with many already having arrived, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

“Several individuals do not register themselves with the Embassy. Therefore, our estimate was that there were 9,000 people. Of these, a significant number of students had returned before the hostilities began. Currently, approximately 882 Indian citizens, including students and business professionals as well as pilgrims who had travelled from here, are in the process of returning via the routes through Azerbaijan and Armenia. Some have already arrived,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi, reported IANS.