MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, on Thursday said that EAM Jaishankar held three telephonic conversations with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, to ensure the safety of commercial shipping and protect India’s energy security amid the ongoing Israel-US-Iran conflict. After the talks, the movement of Indian oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz was stabilised, news agency PTI reported.
“External Affairs Minister and the Foreign Minister of Iran have had three conversations in recent days. The last one discussed issues pertaining to the safety of shipping and India’s energy security. Beyond that, it would be premature for me to say anything,” PTI quoted Jaiswal as saying.
To date, as many as 19 ships have been hit by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz with some seven persons being killed in the attack, mentioned a report by Hindustan Times. Even though two Shipping Corporation of India(SCI) tankers Pushpak and Piramal managed to cross the Strait of Hormuz without escort between last night and Thursday morning, three other tankers were hit by Iranian projectiles and suffered damage, mentioned the report.
Israel-US-Iran conflict
Iran launched a wave of retaliatory attacks after Israel-US jointly attacked the Islamic Republic on Saturday, 28 February. Explosions were reported across Gulf cities including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, among other key West Asian hubs – which are also home to US military bases.
The Israel-US-Iran conflict – which is now in its second week – also caused massive disruptions in flight operations to and from Gulf nations, stranding thousands of travelers across the globe.
‘9000 Indian nationals in Iran…’
On Thursday, Jaiswal also said that India is working to ensure the safety of its 9,000 nationals in Iran, with several students and others returning home through embassy assistance.
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“We’ve had some 9,000 Indian nationals who were there or who are there in Iran. These 9,000 Indian nationals comprise students. They also comprise seafarers, some business people, some professionals, and some pilgrims. Of these 9,000, you would have seen that we had issued an advisory some time back. Our mission issued an advisory following those advisories, which were issued on the 14th of January, if I’m not wrong, and 23rd of February, several Indian nationals, mostly students, a lot of students, left the country and reached home,” said the MEA spokesperson.
He also said that the Indian Embassy in Tehran is facilitating the safe movement of nationals who wish to leave the country. This includes helping them reach Armenia and Azerbaijan via land borders, where they can access flights to return to India.
(with inputs from agencies)
