Seven of the 10 Indian students who had gone to Iraq to learn Arabic at Saddam University in Baghdad are now stranded in Tehran, the capital of neighbouring Iran.

These students, who hail from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, are sulking in Tehran for the past one week, unable to return to India for lack of money and non-confirmation of their airplane tickets.

Mujtaba Sharif, a resident of Nagpur in Maharashtra, told rediff.com on the telephone from Tehran, "We left Iraq 12 hours before the war was to begin. We were given the option to stay back or leave for India. We preferred to leave for India via Tehran, without knowing that we will be stuck in Tehran for so long."

The 10 students had gone through the Darul-Uloom Alimya, a religious organisation that arranges scholarships for those who wish to study Arabic at Saddam University.

"We are running out of money," Mujtaba said. "We might have to sleep on the streets if the Indian embassy does not support us financially. They have not even confirmed our tickets to Mumbai in spite of the fact that we have paid our own fares."

The 10 students who had gone to Baghdad are: Mohammad Qausar Raza (Akola, Maharashtra), Mohammad Zubair (Amravati, Maharashtra), Mohammad Qamruddin (Siddharth Nagar, Uttar Pradesh), Mohammad Hamad Ali, Abdul Mobin and Noor-ul-Hassan (Balrampur, UP), Mujtaba Sharif (Nagpur), Syed Hasan Asqari (Lucknow), Ali Hussain (Basti, UP), and Abu Sariya (Maharajganj, UP).

According to Qamruddin, all flights from Iran to India are full because of the Navroz festival. Navroz is the Parsee New Year celebrated by Iranians for centuries. "People are in a holiday mood in Iran," Qamruddin told rediff.com, "and they are travelling."

There is only one weekly Iran Air flight to Mumbai on Friday, for which the students have been put on the waiting list. There are other private Iranian airlines flying from Tehran to New Delhi, "but we don't have money to purchase tickets on those flights," Qamruddin said.

The stranded students are staying in the Misagh Hotel, Banzandha Khordada, Tehran.

One of the students, Abu Samiya, who had completed his graduation, is the only student who preferred to stay back in Baghdad as he has married an Iraqi girl. Maulana Moin-ul-Haq Alimi, his local guardian in Mumbai, said, "I tried to contact him about his well-being, but it is impossible to get through the phone lines in Baghdad. I hope he is well."

Syed Hasan Asqari and Abdul Mobin were lucky because they had the money to book their tickets from Iran to Dubai, from where they are returning to Mumbai. "These two students will come back tomorrow, but I am not sure about the other students," Maulana Alimi told rediff.com

Ironically, the students had anticipated the war and acquired a one-month transit visa from the Iranian embassy in Baghdad before the war began. "Nine of us hired a bus and reached Al Munzaria on the border at night. We then moved inside Iran and then to Tehran," Mujtaba said.

Asked why they decided to travel through Iran, Mujtaba said, "We preferred Iran because we felt this place is nearer [to India] and cheaper to travel compared to going to Syria, Jordan or Kuwait."

Mujtaba said he is more worried about his future because he has not completed his degree. "I thought if I do this course I will easily get a job in any of the Arab embassies or consulates," he said, "but now I don't see any chances."

Mufti Ghulam Mohammad, Mujtaba's grandfather, said he is very worried. "I have no news about my grandson," he told rediff.com from Nagpur. "I just know that he is in Tehran. He is falling short of money and he told me to somehow arrange money for him. I have no idea what to do and whom to send the money. I hope the Indian embassy helps him."

Vasanth Kumar, first secretary (information and culture) at the Indian embassy in Tehran, told rediff.com, "There are not nine students, but five. Four students have already left for India. They were assisted by the mission in getting bookings on the flight."

According to Kumar, the problem has been caused by the annual Navroz holidays in Iran, with a large number of people travelling to India and other destinations. But arrangements have been made for three other students to buy air tickets soon. The other two will get tickets by March 28, he said.

Kumar denied the students' claim that they are getting no assistance from the Indian mission. "Financial assistance to meet their daily expenses has been given to four students who had applied for it," he said. "Moreover, they have free access to all the officers in the mission and all arrangements are being made for their departure to India."