A telephone exchange between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his Iranian counterpart Mohsen Rezaei on Monday covered both the state of bilateral ties and broader regional and international developments unfolding against a backdrop of heightened tensions across West Asia.
A statement posted to social media by the Iranian embassy noted that Rezaei, in his role as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, held talks with Doval covering recent developments across the region and internationally, along with matters of shared concern to both nations. No specifics about the exchange were made available by the embassy. No official summary of the conversation was made available by India.
Two days before that exchange, a strike on Riyadh's international airport had left one Indian national dead and ten others with injuries. Responsibility for the assault was placed on Houthi forces, a group that has received backing from Iran. The incident unfolded just one day after two cargo vessels with Indian nationals aboard were targeted in waters near the Strait of Hormuz.
Accounts of two crew members going unaccounted for reached authorities after a drone strike hit the vessel MT Petrol Dolphin.
Strikes on commercial shipping near the Strait of Hormuz have drawn attention from New Delhi, a response shaped in part by the deaths and injuries sustained by Indian crew members caught up in those episodes. Of the 18 Indian nationals whose deaths have been recorded in the West Asia conflict, 11 held positions as seafarers.
Navigating ties with Iran and other West Asian nations, New Delhi has consistently backed a return to negotiation and diplomatic engagement as the path to ending the conflict. India's position has included objecting to strikes directed at commercial vessels and non-military infrastructure.
Balancing its longstanding relationship with Iran against its ties to Gulf Arab states — some of which have been the target of Iranian military strikes owing to the presence of US forces on their soil — presents a foreign-policy challenge for India.
At a BRICS Summit gathering in New Delhi the previous month, talks on the margins brought Modi and Pezeshkian together, with the Indian prime minister calling on his Iranian counterpart to seek a negotiated path through the ongoing West Asia conflict. Uninterrupted passage through international waters and the welfare of those who work at sea were among the priorities Modi put forward for sustained attention.
A readout from the Ministry of External Affairs indicated that the pair of leaders held talks covering unfolding events in the region. Addressing the gathered parties, Modi put forward the view that negotiation and diplomatic engagement represent the path through which outstanding disputes ought to be settled.
Hostilities broke out in February, rooted in a series of strikes carried out by Israel and the United States against Iran.
