Iran has suspended its visa-free entry facility for Indian nationals following a surge in cases where Indians were trafficked into the country on fake job promises and later kidnapped for ransom. The suspension, effective from 22 November, applies to all Indian citizens holding ordinary passports.

Indian travellers will now need a valid visa for both entry into Iran and transit through the country.

In an advisory issued on Monday evening, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the decision aims to prevent organised criminal networks from misusing Iran’s visa waiver to exploit vulnerable job-seekers. The ministry said it had been alerted to several incidents in which Indians were lured with promises of high-paying jobs, easy access to Gulf nations or European transit routes and visa-

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