India, June 23 -- India evacuated more than 2,000 of its nationals from Iran by Monday evening and chartered flights were set to bring back more Indians from Iran and Israel following an escalation in hostilities between the West Asian countries.

A total of 291 people, including one Sri Lankan citizen, were evacuated from the Iranian city of Mashhad on a special flight that reached New Delhi on Monday evening, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on social media.

"With this, 2,003 Indian nationals have been brought back safely from Iran so far," Jaiswal said.

Sri Lankan student Fathima Iman Fazir was also on the flight from Mashhad that was part of India's evacuation effort. The governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka...