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Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) faction leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday expressed his admiration for Iran, saying that the nation has shown "what self-respect and courage" are and that India should "learn" from it. The remarks come after the United States launched strikes on the country's nuclear facilities, and Iran responded by striking US military installations in the Middle East.
He also stated that Iran has always stood by India, be it the Kashmir issue or conflict with Pakistan. "Iran has shown what self-respect and courage of a nation are. Iran is a country that has always stood with India when we faced any trouble. Be it the Kashmir or Pakistan issue, Iran has stood by India. We should learn from Iran. The country has not bowed down before anyone," Raut said during a press conference. The UBT leader's comments come a couple of days after the US launched precision strikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities. The conflict began on June 13 when Israel launched a massive airstrike on Iranian military and nuclear sites, code-named "Operation Rising Lion". In retaliation, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) initiated a large-scale drone and missile campaign called 'Operation True Promise 3', targeting Israeli fighter jet fuel production facilities and energy supply centres. Tensions escalated further after the US conducted precision airstrikes early Sunday morning on three key Iranian nuclear facilities under "Operation Midnight Hammer". Iran retaliated by launching multiple missiles at US military installations in Qatar and Iraq, including the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the region, CNN reported. Meanwhile, a total of 292 Indian nationals were evacuated from Iran under 'Operation Sindhu' on a special flight that arrived in New Delhi from Mashhad on Tuesday. In a post on X, the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said, "292 Indian nationals were evacuated from Iran on a special flight that arrived in New Delhi from Mashhad at 0330 hrs on 24th June." A total of 2295 Indian nationals have now been brought home from Iran till now. Baljinder Kaur, a resident of Punjab, who was evacuated from Iran, has been living in Iran for 21 years and works there as a Hindi teacher, said that the government's efforts to evacuate its citizens during difficult times are a matter of pride. Ziva Jaffrey from Nagpur, who has also evacuated from Iran, said, "We are very thankful, very happy. It feels so good. Our flight was scheduled for 19th June, but it was cancelled. We were anxious, but coming here has put us at ease." (ANI)
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