Continuing high level international conversations on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke with the Iranian President Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi.
The two leaders discussed the situation in Gaza as well as progress on the Chabahar port which received a major boost in August when both sides decided to avoid commercial foreign arbitration for disputes between users and operators. In his remarks, President Raisi called for an “immediate ceasefire” and argued that the situation in Gaza will have “extra-regional consequences”.
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Regional contact
“Good exchange of perspectives with President Raisi of Iran on the difficult situation in West Asia and the Israel-Hamas conflict. Terrorist incidents, violence and loss of civilian lives are serious concerns. Preventing escalation, ensuring continued humanitarian aid and early restoration of peace and stability are important. Welcomed the progress in our bilateral cooperation, including on the Chabahar port,” said Prime Minister Modi in a message. PM Modi has been in contact with regional leaders since the conflict broke out on October 7.
In his observations to Mr. Modi, the Iranian leader described the Israeli bombing of hospitals, schools, mosques, churches and residential areas as “unacceptable from the point of view of any human being.” “Palestinian resistance groups have a legitimate right to confront the occupation of the usurping Zionist regime and all countries must support the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom from oppression,” President Raisi said, according to a press release from the office of the President of Iran.
Issuing a stinging criticism of the United States, Mr. Raisi said, “The continuation of the killing of the Palestinian people has infuriated all the free nations of the world and this killing will have extra regional consequences.” The statement from the Iran, hinted that the telephone conversation was initiated by the Indian side.
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On November 3, PM Modi spoke with the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan regarding the war which was followed by a telephonic discussion with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom. Prior to that he spoke to the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El Sisi, President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu. Arab states in the region have been active on the diplomatic front and held a meeting in Amman last Saturday and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Ties with regional rivals
India has maintained productive relations with both Iran and Israel over the years and India-Iran collaboration on the port of Chabahar is an example. “The leaders also reviewed and positively assessed progress in bilateral cooperation. They welcomed the focus and priority given to Chabahar port in Iran,” stated a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs after Monday’s phone conversation between PM Modi and President Raisi.
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The two leaders earlier met on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS summit held in Johannesburg from August 22-23 where the BRICS grouping welcomed Iran as a member state along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Argentina and Ethiopia. Monday’s telephonic conversation between the two leaders indicates intra-BRICS dialogue on the Palestine issue especially as the Iranian Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian has called for intervention by BRICS member states to stop Israeli strikes on Gaza.
India has not allowed extra-regional factors to influence its ties with Iran especially regarding Chabahar. In August, the two sides agreed to exclude commercial foreign arbitration to resolve disputes between the operators and users of the Chabahar port opening up possibility of long term agreement.
