India, June 21 -- A special evacuation flight carrying 290 Indian students stranded in conflict-hit Iran landed safely in Delhi late Friday night, marking the first phase of India's Operation Sindhu. Two more chartered flights, including one from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, are expected to land later on Saturday.

In a key gesture to support India's evacuation efforts, Iran opened its airspace despite ongoing regional hostilities. "Iran's airspace is currently closed, but we're facilitating limited access for the safe evacuation of Indian nationals," said Mohammad Javad Hosseini, deputy chief of mission at the Iranian embassy in Delhi.

He added that additional flights may be planned in the coming days and confirmed close coordination with th...