Foreign Minister Vikram Misri. File | Photo credit: PTI
Foreign Minister Vikram Misri joined foreign ministers and bureaucrats from more than 40 countries at a call hosted by Britain to discuss how the Strait of Hormuz, a key fuel waterway that borders Iran, could be reopened to shipping using diplomatic and political tools. The call comes as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled that it will be up to those using the strait to open it after Tehran virtually closed the passage following a war with Israel and the US.
Mr. Misri mentioned the importance of freedom of navigation and transit through international waterways as reflected in the statement of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Iran-Israel War Update April 2, 2026
“He highlighted the impact of the crisis on India’s energy security and the fact that India remains the only country to have lost sailors in attacks on merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf,” as he called for de-escalation and dialogue, according to the MEA.
The foreign minister also emphasized that the way out of the crisis lies in de-escalation and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue between all parties involved.
“We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage,” said British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who organized the call. There have been more than 25 attacks on vessels in the strait and around 20,000 sailors have been trapped on around 2,000 vessels in the waterway, Ms Cooper said at the start of the meeting.
Countries at Thursday’s (April 2, 2026) meeting backed the “immediate and unconditional opening” of the strait, the chairman said in a statement. They also discussed a number of possible coordinated actions in this regard, including the use of international diplomatic pressure, such as the UN sending coordinated messages to Iran to allow “unexpected” passage through the strait and “comprehensively reject” the imposition of tolls.
Participants in the call discussed coordinating economic pressure, including sanctions, to open the strait, according to a UK statement. The countries also discussed sharing information to increase operational and market confidence, as well as working through the International Maritime Organization, a UN agency, to secure the release of stranded sailors and ships, according to the statement.
India is among a handful of nations whose ships pass through the strait with Iran’s consent.
European countries pushed for dialogue, while the US proposed that the strait be opened by force. French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in South Korea on Thursday (2 April 2026) that using force to open the strait was “unrealistic” and that talks with Iran were the only viable way forward.
The European Union (EU) called for restraint and de-escalation as it backed diplomacy to reopen the strait and without tolls, its foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote in a post X. Iran has begun implementing a toll collection system to allow ships to pass through.
Published – 02 Apr 2026 20:03 IST
