Overview

• India's Ministry of External Affairs on Friday urged citizens to exercise the strictest vigilance regarding employment offers involving travel to Iran.
• The advisory cited recent cases in which Indians were enticed with false job promises or assurances of onward placement to third countries before being abducted.
• Officials stressed that Iran permits visa-free entry for Indians only for tourism and warned that agents touting visa-free work travel may be in connivance with criminal gangs.
• News reports detailed a Delhi man identified as Himanshu Mathur who was allegedly kidnapped and tortured in Iran and released after his family paid a Rs 20 lakh ransom.
• The Iranian Embassy previously said it was investigating three Indians who went missing in Tehran in May as families alleged a Rs 50 lakh ransom demand and it cautioned against unauthorised agents.