Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Foreign minister S Jaishankar discussed the situation in the Strait of Hormuz with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi in a phone conversation on Tuesday evening. While Jaishankar stressed the need for safe merchant shipping, an Iranian readout said that they discussed the “consequences of the US and Israeli regime’s military aggression on the security of shipping and vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz”.Jaishankar had earlier said that he had had a “detailed” discussion on developments in the ongoing conflict.“Referring to Iran’s principled approach to safeguarding shipping security in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s foreign minister reminded that the insecure situation and problems arising for shipping in the Persian Gulf are a result of the aggressive and destabilising actions of the United States, and the international community must hold the US accountable for this situation,” said Iran’s readout of what was the third conversation between the foreign ministers since the war started on Feb 28.“The Indian foreign minister, while emphasising the importance of continuing and enhancing bilateral relations between Tehran and New Delhi, stressed the necessity of ongoing consultations to help restore stability in the region,” it added.According to Iran, Araghchi described the “aggressive acts by US and Israeli regime” as a violation of the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law, noting that all govts have a responsibility to condemn this military aggression and blatant disregard for international law. On Tuesday, Iran also officially honoured the sailors of frigate Dena that was torpedoed and sunk by a US submarine on March 4. The Iranian foreign ministry again underlined in a statement that Dena had been officially invited by Indian Navy to participate in a joint naval exercise and a port visit.
