PM Modi stresses need for secure shipping in call with Iran's President

PM Modi also condemned attacks on "critical infrastructure" in the region, which he said threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains

By Malavika Kaur Makol

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the importance of keeping shipping lanes open and secure in a call with Iran’s President Ahmad Masoud Pezeshkian. 

 

Modi also condemned attacks on “critical infrastructure” in the region, which he said threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains, according to a post on X on Saturday. The Indian prime minister said he “reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure.”

 

India relies on the West Asia for nearly half of its crude, two-thirds of its liquefied natural gas and almost all of its liquefied petroleum gas imports, making it one of the countries most exposed to the crisis in the region. Earlier this month, Modi said he spoke to Pezeshkian as New Delhi looked for ways to secure the safe passage of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. 

 

 

Separately, the country’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held a phone call with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, according to an X post on Saturday. Araghchi stressed that the normalisation of the situation in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz depended on the “cessation of attacks and aggression” by US and Israel, and that any halt to the war must be accompanied by guarantees preventing the recurrence of such actions, according to the post by the Iranian embassy in India. 

 

Surging oil prices and acute gas shortages are rippling through India’s economy as the Iran war drags on, disrupting industries and prompting analysts to cut growth forecasts while warning of rising inflation. The disruption has triggered a cooking gas crisis across households, hotels and restaurants, while industries that rely on LPG are shutting down operations.