No 'Blanket Deal' for Indian Ships to Pass Through Strait of Hormuz: Jaishankar
New Delhi: India's Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar has said that New Delhi has so far not been able to ink with Tehran a blanket arrangement for its ships to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, and will instead need to get permission for each ship passing through.
Iran has blocked the key waterway, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, in response to the US and Israel's attack on itself.
In an interview with Financial Times, Jaishankar sought to emphasise that diplomacy with Iran as the most effective way to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Jaishankar also said that talks with Tehran allowed two Indian-flagged gas tankers to transit the strait. Reports say that the LPG tanker Shivalik has crossed the Strait of Hormuz and is set to arrive today at the Mundra Port in Gujarat.
However, there is no deal which will cover all India-flagged ships, unlike, for instance what Bangladesh and China have been able to secure.
FT noted:
Jaishankar said there was no “blanket arrangement” with Iran for Indian-flagged ships and that “every ship movement is an individual happening”.
This comes as US president Donald Trump has urged countries to deploy warships to reopen the route, warning that he won’t forget the countries that decline to help.
India, while battling deep concerns of a domestic shortage, has condemned Iran’s strikes on Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including the UAE, but has not formally criticised the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Jaishankar has spoken with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi four times since the US and Israel attacked Iran, with talks often focusing about the security of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Last week on March 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke in what was the first leadership-level contact between India and Iran since the war began.
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