As tension prevails between Iran and US following the killing of an Iranian military commander, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a telephonic conversation on Thursday about the recent developments in the Gulf region. For its part, India conveyed its concerns over the region during the conversation.
“We expressed firm resolve to strengthen the bilateral defence cooperation. He also briefed me about the recent developments in the Gulf Region. I shared India’s concerns and interests in the region,” Singh said on Twitter.
This apart, India also said it will like the situation to de-escalate as soon as possible and was in touch with important players in the Gulf region.
Making this position clear, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said here India is “very closely” monitoring the situation in the Gulf region. On Wednesday, India took a series of measures including an advisory to its citizens to avoid travelling to Iraq and rerouting the flight path of the national carrier. The Indian Navy is also on standby to evacuate Indian citizens in case of any exigency.
The External Affairs Ministry’s remarks came a day after Iran said it will welcome any peace initiative by India to de-escalate tensions with the US following the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
Major General Soleimani, 62, the head of Iran’’s elite al-Quds force and architect of its regional security apparatus, was killed when a US drone fired missiles into a convoy that was leaving the Baghdad International Airport early on Friday last week. The strike also killed the deputy chief of Iraq’s powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force.
On Wednesday, Iran launched over a dozen ballistic missiles targeting at least two bases where US military and coalition forces’ are stationed in Iraq. Tehran said it was a “slap in the face” of America.
Kumar also said while India is ‘closely monitoring” the situation, “peace, security and stability in the region is of utmost importance to us. We are talking to several stakeholders. The External Affairs Minister has spoken to players in the region,” Kumar said.
He also said in the past, the US has shown understanding on the importance of Chabahar project in Iran. “How the whole thing is going to impact is hypothetical, we’ll have to see. But, we do appreciate US exempting Chabahar port from the sanctions,” Kumar added.
In December 2019, the US had exempted the Chabahar port in Iran - being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan - from sanctions, saying it recognised that the port was a lifeline for Afghanistan to get humanitarian supplies from India.
The Chabahar port is considered a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran, and Afghanistan with central Asian nations. It is located on the Indian Ocean in the Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. Easily accessible from India’s western coast, the port is increasingly seen as a counter to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, which is being developed with the Chinese investment.