External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced on April 12, 2026 that another 312 Indian fishermen have been safely evacuated from Iran to India via Armenia, taking the total number of Indian nationals moved out of Iran since the escalation of West Asia hostilities to over 2,180, including 981 Indian students and 657 Indian fishermen. The operation, codenamed internally as an extension of the larger Iran evacuation effort, was carried out under the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the Ministry of External Affairs, the Embassy of India in Tehran and coordination with the Indian mission in Yerevan (Armenia) and in Baku (Azerbaijan). The latest batch was received by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal at Chennai International Airport, where Tamil Nadu fishermen who had been trapped in Iranian ports narrated harrowing accounts of facing aerial bombardment, food shortages and communication blackouts. India has formally thanked Armenia for providing transit facilitation and emergency consular access to its nationals. Jaishankar, who is currently on a two-day visit to the UAE, reiterated that the welfare of the Indian diaspora in West Asia remains a top priority and that further phased evacuations will continue depending on the security situation. The MEA also acknowledged close coordination with the Iranian authorities to ensure safe passage, and praised the Indian Embassy in Tehran for round-the-clock consular support. The operation underlines India's growing capability to conduct large-scale evacuations from conflict-affected regions after Operations Ganga (Ukraine 2022), Kaveri (Sudan 2023) and Ajay (Israel 2023).