Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel on Wednesday, India on Monday advised all its nationals living in Iran to leave the country by all available means of transport, including commercial flights, in view of the evolving security situation.The latest advisory by the Indian embassy in Tehran comes in the wake of fresh protests and mounting fears of US military strikes on Iran. Students at several universities in Iran held anti-government demonstrations over the weekend — the first such protests since Tehran cracked down on protesters last month.According to official estimates in January, about 10,000 Indians, including students, were living in Iran.“In continuation of the advisory issued by the Government of India on January 5 and in view of the evolving situation in Iran, Indian nationals who are currently in Iran (students, pilgrims, business persons and tourists) are advised to leave Iran by available means of transport, including commercial flights,” the Indian embassy in Tehran said. Iran’s airport is still functional.“All Indian nationals in Iran are requested to also have their travel and immigration documents, including passports and identity cards, readily available with them… They are requested to contact the Indian embassy for any assistance in this regard,” it said. The advisory reiterated that all Indian citizens and PIOs should exercise due caution, avoid areas of protests or demonstrations and stay in contact with the Indian embassy.Read | ‘Don’t know if my parents are alive or dead’: Iranian students in India wait in fear as protests rage back home, phones go silentModi is set to visit Israel on February 25-26, and is expected to address the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in what would be his second visit to the country since assuming office.The US has stepped up its military presence in the Middle East, with President Donald Trump warning last week that “really bad things will happen” if no deal is reached to solve the longstanding dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.While Iran and the US are expected to hold a third round of nuclear talks in Geneva this week, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X on Sunday that recent negotiations had “yielded encouraging signals”, and pointed to Tehran’s readiness for “any potential scenario”. This has given some hope of a breakthrough in the negotiations.Story continues below this adTrump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who leads nuclear negotiations from the US administration, said on Saturday that the US President was curious as to why Iran has not yet “capitulated” and agreed to curb its nuclear programme.“I don’t want to use the word ‘frustrated,’ because he understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he’s curious as to why they haven’t… I don’t want to use the word ‘capitulated,’ but why they haven’t capitulated,” Witkoff said in an interview. “Why, under this pressure, with the amount of seapower and naval power over there, why haven’t they come to us and said, ‘we profess we don’t want a weapon, so here’s what we’re prepared to do’? And yet it’s sort of hard to get them to that place.”Reacting to this, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said in a post on X: “Curious to know why we do not capitulate? Because we are Iranian.”Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Iran