EAM Jaishankar touches base with Iranian foreign minister for third time since war to discuss Strait of Hormuz

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the situation in the Strait of Hormuz in a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Saeed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday evening. While Jaishankar stressed the need for safe merchant shipping, an Iranian press release said they discussed “the consequences of the military aggression of the US and Israeli regimes on the security of shipping and vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz”.Jaishankar had earlier said that he had held “at length” discussions on the developments in the current conflict.“When talking about Iran’s principled approach to safeguarding shipping security in the Persian Gulf, the Iranian Foreign Minister reminded that insecurity in the Persian Gulf and problems in shipping are the result of the aggressive and destabilizing behavior of the United States, and the international community must hold the United States responsible for this situation,” Iran read out. This is the third conversation between the foreign ministers of the two countries since the outbreak of the war on February 28.“While emphasizing the importance of Tehran and New Delhi continuing and strengthening bilateral relations, the Indian Foreign Minister also emphasized the need for ongoing consultations to help restore stability in the region,” the statement added.According to Iran, Araghchi called “the acts of aggression by the US and Israeli regimes” a violation of the United Nations Charter and basic principles of international law, noting that all governments have a responsibility to condemn such military aggression and blatant disregard for international law. On Tuesday, Iran also formally paid tribute to the sailors of the frigate USS Dana, which was torpedoed and sunk by a U.S. submarine on March 4. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated in a statement that Dena has been officially invited by the Indian Navy to participate in joint naval exercises and port visits.