Around 9,000 Indians are still in Iran and some ships carrying crude are also currently in the Persian Gulf region, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Wednesday after the meeting of the parliamentary panel’s meeting, which discussed the safety, security and repatriation of Indian diaspora during the ongoing conflict in West Asia.”In Iran, about 9,000 Indians are still there, but not all of them necessarily wish to leave. The situation in the Gulf countries is that it’s fairly easy to come in and out by commercial means. Flights are operating out of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, less so from Qatar and Bahrain, which are more affected. Anyone can come and go, it’s no longer a question of being stranded…there are still other complications,” he told mediapersons after the meeting, where officials from the Ministry of External Affairs briefed the panel about the situation prevailing in the region. The Thiruvananthapuram MP heads the parliamentary committee on external affairs.Tharoor added that he asked the MEA officials about any steps that could be taken to address the plight of children who are unable to give CBSE board exams in the Gulf countries as they have been cancelled.”I gather that there have already been consultations between the MEA and the Ministry of Education about ensuring that CBSE makes remedial arrangements for the 23,000 students in the Gulf who could not write the exams…everything affecting the well-being of our Indian diaspora was also discussed,” he added.On being asked about how many ships are still stuck with petroleum, the Congress MP said, “They did not have an exact number for the number of ships, but there are a few.””Everyone had questions and concerns about the overall situation, the impact, the safety and security of our nationals, the diaspora, the oil and gas supplies, and the works… We got some answers, but didn’t get all, as the foreign secretary is unavailable. However, on many issues, we got fairly comprehensive coverage,” Tharoor informed mediapersons.