New Delhi: Amid a potentially explosive diplomatic situation, Foreign Minister arrived in Iran on Thursday to represent India at the inauguration of President-elect Ebrahim Raisi.
Following last Thursday’s drone attack, which killed two people, a Briton and a Romanian, on a ship owned by the Israeli company MV Mercer Street off the coast of Oman, Iran is once again caught in the crossfire at a time when the Biden Administration was attempting to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Iran nuclear deal.
As a first step in the condemnation of Iran, Western countries are seeking a discussion at the UN Security Council. The UK has already scheduled a discussion on Saturday. Israel, under its new Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, has vowed to unilaterally act against Iran. ‘We know how to send a message to Iran in our own way,’ Bennett warned.
Iran is keen on avoiding any such discussion. India holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council inAugust, so, understandably, it must balance both extremes. The presence of Jaishankar in Tehran would provide an opportunity for Iran to exert pressure and thus conduct delicate diplomacy during a visit that was primarily protocol-oriented.
India has already scheduled a meeting on Afghanistan for Saturday, two days after the foreign minister of the country called Jaishankar to request one, in light of the deteriorating security situation in that country.
Answering questions in his weekly briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi said: ‘The question of Afghanistan will be discussed tomorrow (Friday). You would have seen the August 3 press release on the escalation of violence in Afghanistan. , which echoes much of what we have been saying. During tomorrow’s debate, we will share our vision and perspectives on Afghanistan.’
In response to the drone attack on the tanker, Tehran warned Britain, the United States, and Israel that any action ‘will be met with a severe and decisive answer.’
In the meantime, the UK, Romania and the US, along with Israel, have publicly accused Iran. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab described the attack, carried out by drones, as ‘deliberate, directed and a clear violation of international law’. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Washington was ‘confident that Iran carried out this’ and that an ‘appropriate response’ would follow.
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