186 Bangladeshis arrived home from Iran

A total of 186 Bangladeshis stranded in Iran due to ongoing Middle East tensions returned home on Friday (March 20).

A special flight carring them arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka after 2:00am.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam and State Minister for Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Haq welcomed the returnees at the airport.

Prime Minister’s foreign affairs adviser Humayun Kabir, Senior Secretary of the Expatriate Welfare Ministry Niamat Ullah Bhuiyan, and Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam were also present there.

Earlier, at 7:30pm on Friday, another 282 Bangladeshis arrived from Iran via Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on a special flight.

The evacuation follows security concerns after the joint Israel-US strike on February 28, which put Bangladeshis in Iran at risk. Of those affected, 186 requested repatriation. With support from the International Organization for Migration and the Azerbaijani government, they were first flown to Baku, Azerbaijan, and later brought to Dhaka on a special Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.

Among the returnees were 11 children and 8 women. Due to the lack of valid passports, 140 individuals were repatriated using travel permits.

The State Minister for Foreign Affairs said the government will continue to take all necessary measures to repatriate Bangladeshis from any crisis-hit areas in Iran and the wider Middle East.