New Delhi, May 4:
Amid calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, India on Friday advised its nationals to remain vigilant while travelling to Iran and Israel, while noting that both the warring nations have opened their airspace.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in response to a media query on a travel advisory with respect to Iran and Israel said: “We continue to closely monitor the situation in the region. We have also noted that Iran and Israel have opened their airspace for several days now.
“We advise Indian nationals to remain vigilant while traveling to these countries and be in touch with the Indian Embassy.” There has been a lull in the hostilities between Iran and Israel, since April 13 when Iran let loose a barrage of missiles at Israel, which were mostly intercepted. Iran had fired around 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles, and 30 cruise missiles toward Israel, which were largely intercepted and the some that escaped caused minor damage to lives and infrastructure.
The Iranian strike was a direct response to an April 1 Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus that killed several high-level Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officers.
Iran has made clear that it does not wish to escalate the conflict with Israel.
Israel retaliated for the April 13 attack on April 19 by striking several Iranian military sites, including targets near the city of Isfahan, which includes declared nuclear facilities, but the scope of the attack was limited and there was no damage caused.
On April 14 India in a statement had said it is “seriously concerned at the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran which threatens the peace and security in the region”.
India had called for “immediate de-escalation, exercise of restraint, stepping back from violence and return to the path of diplomacy”.
India had also said it is closely monitoring the evolving situation. “Our Embassies in the region are in close touch with Indian community. “It is vital that security and stability are maintained in the region”
