186 Bangladeshis return home from Iran amid war
Published: 21 March 2026, 2:54:04
Amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, 186 Bangladeshis have safely returned home from Iran.
They were welcomed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid Islam and State Minister for Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Md Nurul Haque.
Present at the reception were the Prime Minister’s foreign affairs advisor Humayun Kabir, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan, and Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam.
Earlier, on Friday evening at 7:30pm, 282 Bangladeshis returned from Iran via Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on a special chartered flight.
Following a joint Israeli–US strike on February 28, Bangladeshis residing in Iran faced serious security risks. Due to the uncertain situation, 186 Bangladeshis applied for repatriation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare took swift action. With assistance from the governments of Iran and Azerbaijan, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the group was first brought to Baku, Azerbaijan, and then transported to Dhaka on a special Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, arriving shortly after 2 am Friday.
State Minister Shama Obaid confirmed that the government is fully prepared to repatriate any Bangladeshis from Iran or other conflict zones in the Middle East. Among the returnees were 11 children and 8 women. Additionally, 140 returnees without valid passports were brought back using travel passes.
