This was the second telephone conversation between Prime Minister Modi and the Iranian president since the start of the current conflict on February 28. File | Photo credit: ANI
Speaking to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday (March 21, 2026) on the occasion of Id and the Persian new year of Nowruz, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged for “freedom of navigation”, hinting at India’s growing concern over disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy route between the Persian Gulf and India.
President Pezeshkian, for his part, referred to India’s current chairmanship of the BRICS grouping and said it should play an “independent role” in “stopping attacks by the US and Israel”. He said the “precondition” for ending the war was “an immediate cessation of aggression by the US and Israel”.
Soon after, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar also spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi and discussed the evolving conflict and “implications for the larger region”.
Also read: LIVE updates on the war between Israel and Iran
“He spoke with President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian and conveyed Ida and Nowruz greetings. We expressed hope that this festive season will bring peace, stability and prosperity to West Asia. They condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the region that threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains. They reiterated the importance of protecting freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and safe after the talks,” he said prime minister
The Iranian embassy issued a press release on the call, saying that President Pezeshkian “stressed that the immediate cessation of aggression by the US and Israel, along with guarantees against their recurrence in the future, is a prerequisite for ending war and conflict in the region.”
He spoke with the president Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian and conveyed Eid and Nowruz greetings. We expressed our hope that this festive season will bring peace, stability and prosperity to West Asia.
Condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the region that threaten regional stability and…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 21, 2026
He also expressed his country’s “readiness to engage in telephone and face-to-face dialogues with world leaders, including on the sidelines of the United Nations” to verify the peaceful intent of Iran’s nuclear program, and described the US-Israeli attacks on Iran as “deeply inhumane and unethical”. He also proposed the creation of a “regional security framework” that would consist of West Asian countries and would be free of “foreign interference”.
Referring to India’s current BRICS chairmanship, President Pezeshkian called on the group to “play an independent role in stopping aggression against Iran and ensuring regional and international peace and stability.”
Prime Minister Modi spoke to Mr Pezeshkian earlier on March 12, urging him to give way to diplomacy to resolve the crisis and stressing the need for safety and security of Indian citizens in the Arab states of the region, as well as in Iran.
India has so far evacuated around 882 Indian businessmen, students and pilgrims from Iran via neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan, official spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said on March 20. However, the main escalating impact of this conflict for India has been the issue of energy insecurity due to Iranian tightening that allows free movement of tanks through the Strait of Hormuzcar, which is not an energy strait to India. as well as growing concerns about the safety of Indian sailors on dozens of Indian and global merchant navies stranded in the Persian Gulf.
India is also concerned about the deaths of its citizens in tankers as well as in cities in the Gulf states where millions of Indians work as expat blue and white collar workers. The latest death was recorded on March 18 in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, where an Indian was killed by an Iranian missile attack, bringing the number of Indians killed so far in the conflict to six, with one missing and presumed dead.
Rejecting accusations of Iran as a “source of instability and tension in the region”, President Pezeshkian said: “It is Israel that carries out attacks and assassinations in Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Qatar and elsewhere, which it justifies under the pretext of maintaining security and peace, while in fact it incites unrest and conflict throughout the region.”
Mr Jaishankar discussed the evolving scenario with his counterpart Mr Araghchi. “Our conversation was about the latest developments on the conflict. And its implications for the larger region,” Mr. Jaishankar said after the call.
Mr. Modi and Mr. Jaishankar have been in touch with regional stakeholders in the past few days, holding telephone discussions calling for a suspension of the war that began when the U.S. and Israel bombed Tehran on February 28, killing the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mr Jaishankar spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Friday (March 20, 2026). Officials here described the calls as part of an “evolving situation.”
Published – 21 March 2026 17:01 IST
