India Urges Restraint, De-escalation as US and Iranian Exchange of Fire Jeopardises Deal
New Delhi: With the US and Iranian exchange of fire this week again jeopardising their fragile interim peace deal and President Donald Trump threatening more strikes overnight, India on Wednesday (July 8) called on both sides to de-escalate and ensure the safety of civilians as well as the uninterrupted flow of goods.
“India is deeply concerned over the recent attacks and escalation of tensions in West Asia, which have followed fresh targeting of commercial shipping transiting international waterways in the region,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
It called on all sides to “exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions and ensure protection of civilians as well as the uninterrupted flow of energy supplies and commerce”, in addition to urging that they return to the negotiating table to achieve a peaceful end to the conflict. Its statement did not name either the US or Iran.
Traffic along the Strait of Hormuz has improved in recent days since Tehran agreed to remove its blockade under the interim agreement of June 17, but has reportedly remained below one-thirds of its level before the US-Israeli strikes starting February 28 triggered the war and Iran's retaliatory move.
A breakdown of the interim deal will have implications for India – as with the rest of Asia – as over half of its crude oil inflows and up to 90% of its LPG imports ordinarily traversed the chokepoint. Many Indian nationals have also been killed amid the conflict, including by a US naval strike and falling shrapnel from intercepted aerial attacks.
Speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Turkey's Ankara, Trump on Wednesday when asked about the status of the ceasefire said that “for me, I think it's over”. US representatives can continue negotiations with Iran “but I think they're wasting their time”, he added.
Hours later he indicated that the US is preparing for another night of strikes. “We hit them very hard last night … We’ll probably hit them hard again tonight,” he said on Wednesday evening, describing the American action as retaliation for Iranian attacks on ships.
Attacks have repeatedly threatened the shaky ceasefire, but Trump's comments added new uncertainty, and oil prices shot up after he spoke.
After three tankers were hit in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the US launched strikes on Iran – targeting air defence systems, radars and boats – and Tehran responded by attacking US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Iran and the US agreed as part of the interim deal to allow ships to pass through the strait without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran has insisted it must control the vessels' routes and vowed to later charge fees for passage. That would upend decades of practice in the waterway. The ships attacked Tuesday all appeared to be using a route close to Oman's shore, rather than one ordered by Tehran.
Since Tuesday, reports Reuters, four oil and gas tankers that were about to transit the strait turned back, including the Indian-flagged carrier Lila Vadinar, which is carrying two million barrels of Kuwaiti crude.
Washington on Tuesday also revoked a license that – for the first time in years – had allowed Iran to conduct oil sales openly in US dollars, as part of the interim deal. M.B. Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament and a major figure in the talks between the two sides, characterised that move as a breach of the interim deal.
The two sides signed their interim deal on June 17, three and a half months after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, which has claimed thousands of lives mostly in Iran and Lebanon.
The terms of the agreement, dubbed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding in view of Pakistan's role as a key mediator, are seen as playing to Tehran's advantage, with Washington also not achieving its stated objectives for the war.
While the two sides had also agreed to hammer out a final deal in 60 days' time, it is unclear if the talks will resume after slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral ceremonies conclude on Thursday.
With inputs from AP.
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