Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held a phone conversation with Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday, to discuss regional developments and concerns over shipping security in the region. In a post on X EAM later described the talks as detailed and said both sides agreed to remain in touch.
“A detailed conversation this evening with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran on the latest developments regarding the ongoing conflict. We agreed to remain in touch.”Later, Iran’s foreign ministry in a statement on Wednesday gave details of the phone call between both ministers. .In a post on X, the ministry of foreign affairs of Iran said: “Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of India, held a phone conversation with Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, during which they discussed regional developments.” According to the statement, the two ministers also discussed the impact of the ongoing conflict on maritime traffic through the key waterway that links the Persian Gulf with global shipping routes.“The foreign ministers of Iran and India also 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,” the Iranian foreign ministry said.During the call, Araghchi detailed the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran over the past 11 days, including the missile attack on a girls’ elementary school, which killed over 100 girls, and civilian sites and public service centers. “In this telephone conversation, Iran’s Foreign Minister detailed the crimes committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Iranian nation over the past 11 days, including the missile attack on a girls’ elementary school in Minab on the first day of the war and subsequent widespread attacks on civilian sites and public service centers. He emphasized Iran’s determination to comprehensively defend the integrity of Iran,” the post added. He said such actions violated international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter. The Iranian minister also referred to what he called Iran’s “principled approach to safeguarding shipping security in the Persian Gulf,” adding that instability affecting maritime traffic in the region was the result of “aggressive and destabilising actions of the United States.”Jaishankar, according to the statement, emphasised the importance of continuing and strengthening bilateral relations between India and Iran, and stressed the need for continued consultations aimed at restoring stability in the region.
