Kamal Ghorui
Iran said that it has “good contact” with India over the passage of ships from the Strait of Hormuz and wants to help New Delhi with navigation. It also denied charging toll for Indian tankers while transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.Iranian ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, in a press briefing, said that Iran and India “share the same fate and interests,” and the two nations maintain strong ties amidst the challenging times.
“In this difficult time, we have good relations. We believe Iran and India share common interests and a common fate,” Fathali said. He further stressed that Iran never charged India for the passage of its ships through the Hormuz after US President Donald Trump vowed to block passage for vessels making payments to Iran. He said, “You can ask the Indian government if we have charged anything up to now.”New Delhi, on various occasions, has also denied ever paying toll for the passage of its nine ships through the waterway. It has secured nine liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers since Iran has barred the passage of tankers, while 15 India-flagged ships remain stuck in the Persian Gulf.Detailing the further navigation of Indian tankers from the strait, the ambassador said that Iran wants to help India navigate the passage of tankers. The envoy further said that Iran is ready to sell its oil to any country that wants to purchase it.“Iran has oil and is ready to sell to any country that wants it,” he said.Notably, about half of India’s crude oil and LPG supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz.Additionally, amid the temporary waiver from the United States on oil purchases from Tehran, New Delhi received its first Iranian oil in 7 years, according to the ship tracking data reported by Reuters. According to the reports, two very large crude carriers loaded with Iranian oil have reached Indian ports.The developments come after Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the United States would begin blockading all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 1400 GMT, a deadline that has now passed. The blockade would restrict all ships going to or coming from the Iranian ports from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. He also issued a fresh warning that any Iranian ship near the blockade would be “immediately eliminated.”“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea. It is quick and brutal,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.Other ships would not be facing the restrictions as per the announcement.
