AmNEW DELHI: Amidst the escalation of the Red Sea crisis, External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar is expected to leave for Iran on Sunday, January 14th, and will return on January 15th.
"This trip comes at a crucial time as the tensions in the Red Sea, due to attacks by Houthis is escalating. On Friday, the US and UK along with support from other countries, began to airstrike the Houthi basis in Yemen. India is concerned about the maritime security of the Red Sea but is not a part of the group involved in the air strikes. India and Iran are also trade partners so this upcoming trip of Dr Jaishankar is being viewed as crucial,’’ said a source.
It may be recalled that Dr. Jaishankar had a telephonic conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, on 6th November last year. The Iranian Foreign Minister had cautioned about the possible consequences of the war between Israel and Hamas and also said that Iran expected India, along with other regional and global countries to work towards establishing a ceasefire and sending humanitarian aid to Gaza. He had also urged other nations to prevent what he called a `full-scale genocide and displacement of Palestinians.’
Meanwhile, on Friday before the US and UK, along with other supporting nations, attacked Houthi bases in Yemen in the early hours of Friday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with Dr Jaishankar, and the two expressed concern over the maritime security challenges in the Red Sea, that is a fallout of the Israel-Hamas conflict that began on October 7th.
It is also reported that the US had warned the Houthis of the attack before they struck them to avoid an all-out war. Houthis have claimed that the US has struck the same targets in Yemen that they did in 2015, and they were now gearing up to target US and UK military bases.
Whether Dr Jaishankar’s upcoming visit helps in the de-escalation of the crisis in the Red Sea or not, time will tell, however, this sudden trip to Tehran does indicate that there is a lot of fire-fighting to be done to prevent the war from spreading further and engulfing the entire world.