Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday evening chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, India’s highest decision-making body on security and strategic issues, to review developments in West Asia, PTI reported.
The discussion focused on the consequences of recent US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“The Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS),” a source told PTI without giving details of the meeting.
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The Cabinet Committee on Security meeting was held soon after PM Modi returned to the national capital around 9:30 pm, following his two-day visit to Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, PTI reported.
The meetings attended by members of the committee, including Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, briefed the top officials on the prevailing situation in West Asia and its implications for India, sources told PTI.
Who participated in the government’s security committee?
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Principal Secretaries to the Prime Minister PK Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan, Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also attended the meeting.
The meeting is believed to have discussed the safety of Indian citizens living in West Asia as well as those stranded and how to deal with the situation if it worsens, sources told PTI.
Currently, the airspace of West Asia is almost closed.
As flight services were disrupted due to the military escalation in West Asia, hundreds of Indians were stranded in Dubai, Doha and other key airports in the region, with many taking to social media to appeal to the Indian government for help.
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The meeting was also learned to take stock of the situation arising out of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is a major shipping route for Indian oil tankers, by Iranian authorities, sources told PTI.
About 10,000 Indian citizens live, study and work in Iran, while more than 40,000 live in Israel. In total, around nine million Indians live in the Persian Gulf and West Asia.
In previous crises, India has successfully evacuated thousands of its citizens from conflict zones, including in West Asia.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Indian missions in the region are maintaining constant contact with citizens and emergency helplines have been activated, PTI reported.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States early Saturday morning. Iran’s state television and state news agency IRNA announced the death of the 86-year-old man early Sunday morning.
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US President Donald Trump said he had given the Iranians their “biggest chance” to “take back their country”.
The heavy and precise bombing was to continue for a week or as long as necessary, Trump said.
Iran responded to the attack by launching drones and missiles at Israeli and US military installations in the Persian Gulf region, as well as the global trade center of Dubai.
On Sunday, mourners belonging to the Shiite community took to the streets in various parts of India to express outrage and grief over Khamenei’s killing.
