Some Indian students were being moved to safer places within Iran amid Tehran’s escalating military tensions with Israel, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday.

“The Indian embassy in Tehran is continuously monitoring the security situation and engaging Indian students in Iran to ensure their safety,” the ministry said in a statement.

Other feasible options are also being examined, the statement said. “Separately, the embassy is in touch with community leaders regarding welfare and safety,” it added.

On Sunday, Russia also said that it had evacuated several of its citizens from Iran and halted services at its consulate in the capital Tehran amid the conflict, AFP reported.

The developments came after Israel on Friday struck what it claimed were nuclear targets and also on other sites in Iran with an aim of stalling Tehran’s nuclear programme. The attacks have led to fears of a wider escalation of the conflict.

The Israeli Defense Forces have hit sites in Tehran and several other cities. Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz was among the targets that were hit.

On Saturday, Iran retaliated with missile attacks at several places across Israel, including the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa.

Israel attacked the Shahran fuel and gasoline depot in Tehran and set it ablaze. Israeli strikes also hit Shahr Rey, one of Iran’s largest oil refineries, and a portion of the South Pars Gas Field, which is among the largest gas fields in the world.

On Sunday, Israel renewed its attacks on Iran, striking Tehran and other areas across the country for the third consecutive day.

Israeli strikes have killed 224 persons, as per Iran’s health ministry. Those killed included Iranian military chief Mohammad Bagheri and Hossein Salami, the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Iranian military continued its missile attacks on Israel on Monday.

In Israel, at least 14 persons died in Iranian strikes so far, the Associated Press reported.

Israel on Friday had claimed that Iran was “closer than ever” to obtaining a nuclear weapon, and said it had no choice but to “fulfil the obligation to act in defence of its citizens”.

Iran has for long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.