MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday described the reports as “baseless”, suggesting that Iran had demanded the return of the three vessels seized by India in exchange for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
“This report is baseless. There has been no discussion of this nature between the Indian and Iranian authorities. I would also like to say that in any case the three vessels you have mentioned are not owned by Iran, nor are there any Iranian crew on these vessels,” ANI quoted Jaiswal as saying.
He further added that “they are not tankers, they are vessels”.
The MEA spokesman’s comments come in the wake of reports claiming that Iran has demanded the return of three tankers seized by India in exchange for allowing safe passage of Indian-flagged or India-bound ships from the Strait of Hormuz.
India is still in talks with Iran for several ships
Jaiswal further said that India is still in talks with Iran regarding several ships still in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We are negotiating with Iran and other countries. As our special secretary mentioned, there are still many ships in the Strait of Hormuz area. Our intention is to work with Iran and other countries to bring these ships home safely. That is our goal. Discussions on this issue are ongoing. We are negotiating with Iran on a number of issues in terms of humanitarian assistance,” Jaiswal said.
Why is the Strait of Hormuz in the spotlight?
The US and Israel launched strikes against Iran that resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. Tehran subsequently launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and US military installations in the Persian Gulf region.
Iran has also attacked ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a key sea route through which India gets 85-90% of its LPG imports from West Asian countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The outages led to consecutive days of LPG shortages in India, with supply problems reported in major cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai.
The Strait of Hormuz is the only maritime link between the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and serves as a key route for about a quarter of the world’s liquefied natural gas exports and by sea from the Gulf countries to global markets.
Described by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as one of the world’s most important oil hubs, the strait handles about 20 million barrels of oil a day – roughly a fifth of global consumption – and about one fifth of global LNG trade, mainly from Qatar.
Earlier, Iran’s ambassador to India – Mohammad Fathali said that – Tehran would ensure safe passage for India-bound vessels through the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, citing “friendly relations” between the two nations.
India on Tuesday also reiterated its longstanding position calling for immediate de-escalation through dialogue in ongoing tensions in West Asia.
