Jaishankar: Direct talks with Iran helped Indian vessels to pass through Strait of Hormuz

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has hailed India’s direct talks
with Iran as the most effective way to restart shipping through the
Strait of Hormuz amidst the ongoing war in West Asia.

In an interview to the Financial Times, Jaishankar, who is currently
on a visit to Brussels, pointed out that negotiations between New
Delhi and Tehran which helped two Indian-flagged gas tankers to pass
through the Strait on Saturday were an example of what diplomacy could
bring. “I am at the moment engaged in talking to them and my talking
has yielded some results. This is ongoing. If it is yielding results
for me, I would naturally continue to look at it. Certainly, from
India’s perspective, it is better that we reason and we co-ordinate
and we get a solution than we don’t. So if that sort of allows other
people to engage, I think the world is better off for it,” he said.

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Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said last week the
country’s military would continue to block the narrow waterway,
through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas used to
transit. France and Italy are among European countries that have
opened talks with Tehran about a possible diplomatic solution that
would allow for energy shipments to restart.

Asked if European countries could ape India’s arrangement with Iran,
Jaishankar said, ‘’each relationship frankly, in a way stands on its
own merits. So now, it’s very hard for me to compare this with some
other relationship which may or may not have these. I’d be happy to
share with [EU capitals] what we are doing…I know many of them have
had conversations [with Tehran] as well.’’

The Indian minister said there was no “blanket arrangement” with Iran
for Indian-flagged ships and that “every ship movement is an
individual happening”. He denied that Iran had received anything in
exchange, and cited a “history of dealing’’ between the two countries.

“It’s not an exchange issue,” he said, adding, “India and Iran have a
relationship. And this is a conflict that we regard as something very
unfortunate. These are still early days. We have many more ships
there. So while this is a welcome development, there is continuing
conversation because there is continued work on that.”