India can play a role in de-escalating tensions in Gulf: Iran Foreign Minister
| Date :16-Jan-2020 |
NEW DELHI :
Javad Zarif meets NSA Doval, briefs him on situation in Gulf region
INDIA can play a role in de-escalating tensions in the Gulf region as New Delhi is an important player, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who was on India visit for the Raisina Dialogue, said on Wednesday. His remarks come amid tensions between the US and Iran over the killing of Iranian General Major General Qasem Soleimani. India has been maintaining that it would like the situation to de-escalate as soon as possible and the country has been in touch with key players, including Iran, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, as it has important interests in the region.
“India can play a role in de-escalating tensions in the Gulf region as New Delhi is an important player,” Zarif told PTI. Zarif also met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and gave him a firsthand account of the situation prevailing in the Gulf region, sources said. The overall security scenario figured prominently in the talks, they said. The deliberations between them come amid the global focus on Iran and the US over the confrontation between the two countries following the killing of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite al-Quds force, was killed when a US drone fired missiles on his convoy in Iraq on January 3. Last week, Iran launched over a dozen ballistic missiles targeting at least two bases where US military and coalition forces’ are stationed in Iraq.
Soleimani’s killing was the most dramatic escalation yet in spiralling tensions between Iran and the US. India has strong interest in peace, stability in the region: PM to Iran Foreign Minister: PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday told the Iranian Foreign Minister that India has strong interest in peace, security and stability in the region. He made these remarks when Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on him here. “The Foreign Minister shared his perspectives on the recent developments in the region. The Prime Minister mentioned India’s strong interest in peace, security and stability in the region,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The meeting comes on the back of tensions in the Gulf region, days after the killing of top Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani in a US strike. Iran later launched ballistic missile strikes on two US military bases in Iraq, in retaliation against the January 3 killing of Soleimani. Zarif is in Delhi to participate in the ‘Raisina Dialogue’. The Prime Minister also thanked Iranian leadership for the progress in Chabahar project, including designating it as Special Economic Zone. Climate change threatening all progress, nations must deal with challenge jointly: Maldives FM: ASSERTING that climate change was threatening to undercut all progress, Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid on Wednesday urged countries to jointly deal with the challenge in a meaningful way.
He also said that a stronger, prosperous, democratic and politically stable Maldives was necessary for the security of the Indian Ocean Region. In his address at the Raisina Dialogue here, Shahid said that with 10 billion tonnes of cargo and 65 per cent of world trade passing through, the Indian Ocean region is a key geopolitical arena. Climate change threatens to undercut all progress, presenting a clear danger to the maritime nations of the world, he said.
Interested in diplomacy but not in negotiating with the US: Zarif
NEW DELHI :
IRAN’S Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Wednesday said that his country was interested in diplomacy but not in negotiating with the US, remarks that come amidst spiralling tensions between the two countries over the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Hitting out at the US, Zarif said Soleimani’s killing showed ignorance and arrogance. Addressing the gathering at the Raisina Dialogue, he said 430 Indian cities saw protests against Soleimani’s killing. “Iran is interested in diplomacy. We are not interested in negotiating with the US. US did not keep its commitments under the nuclear deal. We had a US deal and US broke it. If we have a Trump deal, how long will it last?” Zarif said. “We need to create hope in the region,” he said. Iran incurred hundreds of billions of dollars in damages because of current tensions, Zarif said. He said that Soleimani was the single biggest threat to IS and his killing was now being celebrated by the terror group and US President Trump.