New Delhi: A day after Iranian drones and missiles were launched into Israel, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday, April 14, talked of “avoiding escalation” with the Iranian foreign minister and shared India’s “concern” on the April 13 attacks in a separate conversation with his Israeli counterpart.
The Iranian foreign minister also confirmed that the 17 Indian crew members of the seized vessel would be allowed to meet with Indian diplomats “soon”.
On April 13, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles into Israel in retaliation for an airstrike by Israeli planes on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed two Iranian generals.
Iran stated that this action, the first direct military assault on Israel by Tehran, effectively concluded the issue – unless Israel retaliated further.
In his first public response to the Iranian attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday, “We intercepted. We blocked. Together we will win.”
The United States has reportedly told Israel that the interception of the vast majority of missiles was a big victory, and that further retaliation is not required. However, the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has said that confrontation with Iran “is not over yet.”
After a late-night phone call with Iranian foreign minister, Jaishankar posted on X that he spoke with Hossein Amirabdollahian to underline the “importance of avoiding escalation, exercising restraint and returning to diplomacy”.
He also posted that the release of the 17 Indian crew members of cargo ship MSC Aries seized by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was taken up with the Iranian foreign minister.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian forces took over the container ship, which is supposedly linked to an Israeli tycoon.
Later, Amirabdollahian posted that he had phone calls with ten counterparts, including Jaishankar. He wrote that Iran’s action was defensive under the ambit of Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
A more expansive readout issued by the Iranian foreign ministry on Monday said that Amiraabdollahian also asked India to “maintain its active role through international bodies, including the United Nations Security Council, to halt the war in Gaza, which lies at the core of the current crisis in the region”.
He also highlighted the need to end Israel’s “aggression and crimes”.
The Iranian readout quoted Jaishankar as saying that the “most crucial priority is de-escalating tensions”.
Jaishankar also told the Iranians that India “calls upon all parties to assume responsibility” and work towards a “peaceful resolution to ease current tensions”.
While the Indian external affairs minister sought “release” of the 17 Indian crew members, the Iranian press release only described his remarks as “seeking assistance” in the matter.
The Iranian press release stated that Amirabdollahian assured that “arrangements will soon be made for representatives of the Indian government to meet with the crew members of the vessel in question”.
While Jaishankar wrote that he spoke about exercising restraint and avoiding escalation with Iran foreign minister, there was no such explicit mention in his post outlining talks with Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz.
Instead, Jaishankar wrote that he shared “our concern at the developments yesterday” with Katz.
India had issued an statement on Sunday morning that it was “seriously concerned” after the Iranian military action. “We call for immediate de-escalation, exercise of restraint, stepping back from violence and return to the path of diplomacy,” said the Ministry of External Affair’s statement.
Previously, India had “noted with concern” the airstrike on the Iranian consulate building and had urged “all parties to avoid actions that go against commonly accepted principles and norms of International Law”.
