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Iran's security chief speaks to Ajit Doval as Gulf attacks hit ships with Indian crews
Mohsen Rezaei and India's National Security Adviser discussed the regional situation and bilateral ties, Iran's embassy said, days after three tankers with Indian sailors were struck.
Key points
- Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei spoke to NSA Ajit Doval on Monday.
- The two exchanged views on regional developments and India-Iran ties, the Iranian Embassy said.
- Two Indian seafarers are still missing after a drone hit a tanker off Oman on 11 October.
Iran’s top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, spoke to India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Monday about the escalating conflict in the Gulf, the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi said.
Rezaei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Doval “exchanged views on the latest regional and international developments and issues of mutual interest to the two countries,” the embassy said. The conversation also covered relations between India and Iran. There was no statement from the Indian side.
Indian crews in the line of fire
The call came as attacks on shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz put Indian sailors at risk. On 11 October, a drone struck the Nicaragua-flagged tanker MT Petro Dolphin at Sohar Anchorage off Oman. Nine of its 11 Indian crew were rescued and two are still missing.
The same day the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker M/T Valthera caught fire after being hit by a projectile in the strait; all 11 Indians on board are safe. On 9 October a drone hit MT Gem No. 2 at Sharjah Anchorage, with 22 Indians on board, all of whom are safe.
Tehran’s line on Hormuz
Rezaei has said the United States accepted some of Iran’s seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but called the US response “INADEQUATE” and wrote that there “will be no return to the status quo ante”. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, has said Tehran “maintains total control” over the energy corridor, and dismissed Washington’s account: “The claims of the Americans do not correspond to what we see on the ground.”
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has condemned the attacks on commercial vessels and called for immediate de-escalation.