New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday called for the “de-escalation and restoration of peace” in West Asia, while reiterating the importance of ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, in a call with US President Donald J. Trump.
“Received a call from President Trump and had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia. India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability,” Modi said in a statement on the social media platform X.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, announced that the two leaders had a conversation, highlighting the “importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open” in a post on X minutes before Modi’s statement.
This is the first call between Modi and Trump since the US and Israel launched the first wave of strikes against Iran on 28 February. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke with his American counterpart Marco Rubio Monday for the first time as well.
India has for the duration of the conflict maintained a diplomatic tightrope, offering no condemnation for the US and Israel’s initial strikes on Iran, while calling for all sides to engage in dialogue and diplomacy to de-escalate the situation.
The Prime Minister also addressed Parliament Monday and Tuesday on New Delhi’s view of the war, which has impacted the flow of energy globally. Prices of crude oil have spiked by 40 percent since the war began almost four weeks ago.
India has been in touch with the countries in the region, including Iran and the member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Modi told both houses of Parliament that there is no shortage of energy, as there is currently roughly 53 lakh metric tonnes of fuel in its strategic petroleum reserves.
On Monday, Trump announced that the US is currently engaged with Iran to negotiate an end to the conflict, in an attempt to calm oil markets. The US President had over the weekend issued an ultimatum to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, giving Tehran a 48-hour window to do so.
The window, meant to elapse Monday, is now extended till Friday due to the ongoing negotiations.
Ambassador Gor in an interview with CNN News18 Tuesday confirmed that the US and Iran are in touch through third parties and are engaged in resolving the ongoing conflict.
Iran, however, has maintained that while no direct or indirect negotiations are ongoing, certain messages were conveyed to third parties. These third countries had reached out to Tehran on behalf of the US, the Iranian Foreign Minister has said.
Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey have emerged as the main countries attempting to mediate an end to the conflict, according to a report by the British newspaper the Financial Times Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, refused to confirm the nature of the negotiations, saying that they are of a sensitive nature and will not happen through the press, in a statement to American media houses Monday.
According to Gor, the call between Modi and Trump is a part of the US’ effort to keep India in the loop on the situation in West Asia. The war has disrupted energy supply across the world due to the lack of free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has maintained that the global waterway that accounts for a fifth of the world’s oil supplies is not closed for non-combatant vessels.
In the last week, four vessels carrying liquified petroleum gas to India have transited through the Strait. Two vessels the MS Jag Vasant and Pine Gas passed through the Strait earlier Tuesday on its way to India.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)