India thanks Iran for safely rescuing its 3 Punjabi men

India on Wednesday thanked Iran for safely rescuing its three nationals who went missing in the country last month, saying Tehran’s support reflects the “true spirit of friendship” between the two nations.

They were “freed in a police operation against the hostage takers in Varamin in south Tehran,” the Tehran-based Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

“The 3 kidnapped Indian citizens have been safely rescued & are now under the care of the Embassy of India, which is facilitating their early repatriation,” the Embassy of India in Iran posted on X.

“We sincerely thank the Government of Iran for their swift and effective efforts in securing their release. Your support reflects the true spirit of friendship between our two nations,” it added.

The Iranian Embassy in New Delhi confirmed the recovery of Indian nationals on Tuesday. “Three missing Indian citizens freed by Tehran police,” the Iranian embassy said in a post on X.

Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was in touch with the Iranian authorities over the missing Indians.

The families of the three men from Punjab—identified as Amritpal, Husanpreet Singh and Jaspal Singh—claimed that they had left for Australia on the promise of jobs by travel agents but found themselves in Iran and were later ‘kidnapped’ there.