India defended its decision to allow an Iranian warship to dock at one of its Arabian Sea ports amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, saying it acted out of “humanity”.
New Delhi approved the docking of IRIS Lavan at the southern port of Kochi on Wednesday, the same day that the American navy torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship, which was reportedly unarmed, off Sri Lanka.
The warship, IRIS Dena, was sailing back from a multilateral naval exercise hosted by India when it was attacked. The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors but 87 perished.
Donald Trump declared that the destruction of the Iranian navy a key war goal after US and Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Iran last week, kicking off an escalating regional conflict.
IRIS Lavan was allowed to dock after an urgent request from Tehran, Indian government officials said.
“We approached the situation from the point of view of humanity, other than whatever the legal issues were and I think we did the right thing,” foreign minister S Jaishankar said in New Delhi on Saturday.
Mr Jaishankar said Tehran made an urgent appeal to New Delhi on 28 February saying that one of their ships sailing near Indian waters was experiencing problems and requested to enter an Indian port.
“On 1 March, we said you can come in and it took them a few days to sail in and then they docked in Kochi," the minister said, adding that there were several young cadets aboard the vessel.
The request from Iran “was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues,” he said.
Mr Jaishankar noted that the situation was quite different when the vessel had set out. “They were coming in for a fleet review and then they got in a way caught on the wrong side of events,” he said, speaking at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.
Mr Jaishankar also noted that foreign military presence in the Indian Ocean region was not new.
“Please understand the reality of the Indian Ocean,” the foreign minister said. “Diego Garcia has been in the Indian Ocean for the last five decades. The fact that there are foreign forces based in Djibouti happened in the early first decade of this century. Hambantota came up during this period.”
New Delhi has faced criticism for not coming to the aid of the Iranian ship sunk by the American navy even though it had been a “guest of India’s navy”.
China sets lowest growth target in over 30 years as economy feels strain
Satellite images show Afghanistan’s Bagram air base damaged by Pakistan’s airstrikes
Robotaxi fleet suspended in Dubai as Gulf conflict intensifies
China says US didn’t inform it before attacking Iran as one national confirmed dead
Why Iranian supreme leader Khamenei’s assassination sparked protests in India
US offers India 30-day waiver to buy Russian oil amid Strait of Hormuz disruption
