1,000 Indians still in Iran, 23,000 students in Gulf could not appear in CBSE exams: MEA to Parl panel

New Delhi: Nearly 1,000 Indians are still in Iran amidst the ongoing conflict in West Asia while 23,000 school students based in Gulf region could not appear in the CBSE final examinations due to the turmoil.

This was conveyed by the Ministry of External Affairs to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs at a meeting held here on Wednesday.

"Well, there are about 1,000 still in Iran, but not all of them necessarily wish to leave," chairman of the panel Shashi Tharoor told reporters here after the meeting.

The Congress leader said Class 10 and Class 12 students based in Gulf region have not been able to write their ongoing CBSE final examinations.

"I asked if there could be any steps taken to address their plight. And I gathered that there has already been consultations between the MEA and the Ministry of Education about ensuring that CBSE makes remedial arrangements for 23,000 students in the Gulf who could not write the exams," he said.

Tharoor said the meeting had comprehensive discussions on West Asia and all attendee MPs had questions and concerns about the overall situation, the impact, the safety and security of Indian nationals, the diaspora, the oil and gas supplies, etc.

"We got some answers. We didn't get all. The foreign secretary was not available," he said.

Sources said the members asked questions related to "India's silence" on condemning the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and "condoling deaths of civilians" but no answer came from the MEA officials.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri did not attend the meeting.

The sources said there were no answers to the questions related to India's energy security, what is India's stand on US President Donald Trump's call for international forces to protect the Strait of Hormuz and what message has been conveyed to the Indian diplomatic missions on condemnation and condolences.

Asked whether the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel just before the conflict started was figured, Tharoor said it was also raised, but he could not go into internal discussions of the committee.

He said the situation in the Gulf countries is that it is fairly easy to come in and out by commercial means and flights are operating out of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, less so from Qatar and Bahrain.

"Otherwise, anyone can come and go. It is no longer a question of being stranded. But there are still other complications," he said.

The Congress leader said the well-being of the Indian diaspora was also discussed, questions were also asked how many ships are stuck with petroleum but the MEA officials did not have an exact number for the number of ships, but there are a few.

Tharoor also said that the second part of the meeting was on the AI Impact Summit, its consequences, its implications for India's tech diplomacy, as well as for relations with countries in the Global South.

"So, it was a good, comprehensive, thorough meeting," he said.