As missiles fly across the Gulf, how exposed are Indian companies and students in Iran?

With energy projects frozen under sanctions, India’s main exposure in Iran is now trade and students.

• About 10,000 Indian nationals, mostly students, are in Iran
• Indian energy and infrastructure projects in Iran face major delays
• Indian pharma and goods exports to Iran continue despite tensions

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Missile and drone strikes across the Gulf have pushed West Asia into its most volatile phase in years, and brought India’s footprint in Iran into sharp focus.

In the past 24 hours, the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian military installations. Iran retaliated with missile launches across parts of the Gulf region, including reported strikes affecting Saudi territory and U.S. military positions. Several Gulf states activated air defences and restricted airspace, escalating the crisis beyond a bilateral confrontation.

As regional hostilities widen, attention in New Delhi has turned to the estimated 10,000 Indian nationals currently in Iran, and to the scale of Indian business interests in the country.

How many Indians are in Iran?

According to recent official advisories and government-linked reporting, roughly 10,000 Indian nationals are present in Iran. This includes students, businesspersons and resident families.

Of these, approximately 1,500–2,000 are students, based on government statements from 2025 and early 2026 media reports. Earlier disclosures indicated that nearly half of the resident Indian population in Iran comprised students, most enrolled in undergraduate medical programmes.

The majority of Indian students are studying medicine in cities such as Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Mashhad and Qom. Many are enrolled in five-year MBBS programmes, with a significant number reported to be from Jammu & Kashmir.

The Ministry of External Affairs has previously undertaken evacuation efforts during regional flare-ups, including coordinated departures during earlier periods of heightened tensions. The current escalation has renewed monitoring of the situation, though no fresh large-scale evacuation has been officially announced at the time of writing.

Indian companies in Iran: fewer projects, more exports

Unlike in the mid-2010s, India’s corporate footprint in Iran today is limited.

There is no consolidated public registry of Indian companies operating in Iran. However, embassy records, trade expos and project disclosures indicate that Indian involvement spans energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and commodity exports.

The most significant engagements were in energy.

A consortium comprising ONGC Videsh, Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India Ltd discovered the Farzad-B gas field in 2008 and held development stakes. Following the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018 after Washington withdrew from the nuclear agreement, negotiations stalled. By 2020, Iran replaced the Indian consortium with a domestic operator.

Similarly, GAIL was linked to discussions around the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline through the South Asia Gas Enterprise (SAGE) framework. That pipeline was never executed.

As of 2025–26, no major Indian upstream oil or gas projects are active in Iran.

Infrastructure engagements followed a comparable trajectory. In 2016, IRCON International signed an agreement to develop the Chabahar–Zahedan railway as part of the India–Iran–Afghanistan corridor. In 2020, Iran dropped India from the rail project. Larsen & Toubro held engineering stakes in joint ventures, but no significant new contracts have been publicly reported in recent years.

Where activity continues: pharmaceuticals and trade

While energy and infrastructure projects were halted under sanctions, exports in non-sanctioned sectors have continued.

Indian pharmaceutical companies, including Sun Pharma, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Zydus Cadila, continue to export generic medicines to Iran through permitted trade channels. Iran remains dependent on imported generics, and Indian drugmakers have maintained supply relationships.

In addition to pharma, Indian exports to Iran include tea, rice and certain machinery. Dozens of Indian exporters and trading houses are engaged in goods-based trade, though without large physical subsidiaries or new investments on Iranian soil.

Trade data reflect the structural shift. Bilateral trade fell from approximately $17 billion in 2018–19, when crude oil dominated imports, to under $2 billion by 2024–25 after India stopped major oil purchases following the expiry of U.S. waivers.

The current escalation is not confined to Iran and Israel. Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, have been drawn into the confrontation through missile exchanges and security responses.

Airspace restrictions and military alerts across the Gulf increase logistical risks for civilian travel and trade flows. For Indian nationals in Iran, particularly students in university towns, mobility and communication become central concerns during such crises.

For Indian companies, exposure is primarily commercial rather than operational. With large energy projects already stalled, the immediate corporate risk lies in trade disruption and payment channels rather than physical infrastructure.