In Call With Araghchi, Jaishankar 'Strongly Urges' Attacks on Ships Be Avoided
New Delhi: In their first conversation since the collapse of the ceasefire in West Asia, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on July 31 urged that commercial shipping and seafarers not be targeted under any circumstances, while Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi asserted that the "aggressor parties" should be held accountable by the international community.
In a post on X after the telephone call, Jaishankar said he conveyed India's "deep concerns at the ongoing hostilities in the region" and "strongly urged that attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers be avoided under any circumstance."
"India condemns any such attack by any party," he wrote, adding that Araghchi had apprised him of Iran's perspective on the latest developments and the discussions underway. "India is always supportive of dialogue and diplomacy."
The call came amid renewed fighting after the ceasefire that had halted the 40-day conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States broke down, reviving concerns over maritime security and the safety of commercial shipping in the Gulf.
According to the Iranian embassy in New Delhi, Araghchi told Jaishankar that "the United States' breach of its commitments and its continued military aggression against Iran, including the naval blockade and attacks on Iran's commercial shipping," were the principal causes of insecurity in the region and the Strait of Hormuz. He also said the international community had a responsibility to hold the "aggressor parties" accountable, a formulation Tehran has used repeatedly to describe the United States and Israel.
The call came at a point when the diplomatic track that was meant to end the war is effectively stalled.
After 40 days of fighting, Iran and United States signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding on June 17, which opened a 60-day negotiating window and committed both sides to a permanent end to military operations.
Hostilities resumed in the second week of July, with US President Donald Trump declaring the arrangement over and American forces launching successive nights of strikes across Iran. Tehran struck US military facilities in Gulf states and said it had disabled two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
India had summoned Iran’s deputy chief of mission on July 14 after one Indian sailor died and several were seriously injured in the Iranian attacks on the two tankers.
16 Indian nationals – 10 of them seafarers – died since February 28
Trump halted new strikes in the last week of July, saying Tehran had asked for a pause. He has since described the negotiations in varying terms, telling reporters on Thursday that he was losing faith in Iran without ruling out an eventual deal. Iranian officials have publicly denied that any direct talks with Washington are underway, with foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stating that Tehran would not let the United States dictate the timing of war and peace.
Minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply in parliament on Thursday that 16 Indian nationals, including 10 seafarers, had died since the outbreak of the conflict in West Asia this year, while 75 Indians were injured. The deaths were recorded in Oman, the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Friday's conversation was the first public contact between the two foreign ministers since they met in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in May. At that meeting, Araghchi sought to reassure India that Tehran remained committed to safeguarding commerce through the Strait of Hormuz despite the conflict, describing Iran as "a reliable partner" and saying his country would continue facilitating the safe passage of merchant vessels.
During a press conference after the meeting, Araghchi said Iran was trying to help ships transit the waterway safely and had already assisted a number of Indian vessels. "Everything would go back to normal once the act of aggression is totally and completely ended," he had said, while describing the Strait of Hormuz as open to commercial traffic.
Before that meeting, Jaishankar and Araghchi’s last phone call had been in late April, which had been their sixth conversation since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
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