My NCERT book(Class 12) said the following for reduction of nitrobenzene using $\ce{Sn/HCl}$ and $\ce{Fe/HCl}$ :
Now, I have been following this mechanism for this particular reduction, and it seems to me that the metal is getting oxidized to +2 state wherever it is shown that 2 electrons are being transferred. If that is the case, then:
•Why is $\ce{Fe + HCl}$ being preferred?
•Because I looked it up on Wikipedia and it says that $\ce{SnCl2}$ also gets hydrolysed to liberate $\ce{HCl}$ as follows: $\ce{SnCl2 (aq) + H2O (l) ⇌ Sn(OH)Cl (s) + HCl (aq)}$
Or have I interpreted the mechanism incorrectly?