NEW DELHI: India has hailed direct talks with Iran as the “most effective way” to restart shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which affects global supplies, while Tehran allows Indian-flagged ships to pass through the route.Foreign Minister interviewed by Financial Times Sujashankar After Donald Trump called on about seven countries to deploy warships to police the critical waterway vital to global energy markets, he praised direct talks with Iran’s leader and said “I had some results from my conversations,” referring to re-entering the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Follow live updates on the Iran WarTrump urged China, France, Britain and other countries to protect Iranian-controlled waterways and treat them as “their territory.” His request comes as governments, hit by soaring energy prices after Tehran shut down shipping routes, are weighing their options – including talks with Iran or possible military intervention that could risk drawing them into the escalating Middle East conflict.Jaishankar told the Financial Times that talks between New Delhi and Tehran allowed two Indian-flagged oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, showing what diplomacy can achieve.“I’m currently talking to them and my conversations have yielded some results,” he told the Financial Times in an interview. “It’s ongoing. If it produces results for me, I’ll naturally continue to follow it.”Jaishankar also outlined India’s approach to handling the crisis and indirectly suggested a similar path for other countries. “Of course, from an Indian perspective, we are better off reasoning and coordinating and finding a solution than no solution,” he said. “So if this gets other people involved, I think the world will be a better place for it.”Oil prices closed above $100 last week for the first time since August 2022, and some industry analysts expect further gains as the conflict continues into the spring. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said last week that the country’s military would continue to block the narrow waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas is transported.European countries including France and Italy have opened talks with Tehran on a possible diplomatic solution to resume energy shipments.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS on Sunday that Iran was “open” to countries that wanted to discuss “the safe passage of their ships.”Jaishankar Speech before attending a meeting European Union Foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday and are expected to discuss whether to expand the EU Aspid Navy’s mission in the Red Sea to include the Strait of Hormuz. The mission currently consists of three warships from France, Italy and Greece.“Frankly, every relationship has its own merits to some extent,” he said when asked whether European countries could replicate India’s arrangements. “So right now, it’s difficult for me to compare this relationship with other relationships that may or may not have those.”“I’m happy to share [EU capitals] What are we doing. . . I know many of them have had conversations [with Tehran] Same thing,” he added.Jaishankar said there was no “blanket arrangement” with Iran for Indian-flagged vessels and “each vessel movement occurs individually”.The veteran diplomat also denied that Iran had received anything in return, citing a “history of mutual engagement…that was the basis for my involvement.”“It’s not a matter of exchange,” he said. “India and Iran have a relationship. We think it’s a very unfortunate conflict.”“It’s still early days. We have more ships out there. So while this is a welcome development, conversations are ongoing as work continues on this,” he added.
