As tensions between Israel and Iran grew, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan cancelled his plan to travel to Delhi for talks, officials announced on Tuesday.
Mr. Sullivan, who was going to lead a delegation to hold an annual review of the India-U.S. initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), was also expected to be accompanied by the U.S.’s second-most senior diplomat, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, and was due to land in Delhi on Tuesday ahead of talks with NSA Ajit Doval and other officials including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday. The talks were expected to closely follow Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra’s visit to Washington on April 10-12, and would have been the highest level visit since the U.S. filed charges in the alleged assassination plot against Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun last November, which implicate Indian security officials.
“Due to ongoing events in the Middle East, NSA Sullivan has postponed his trip to India this week,” the U.S. Embassy spokesperson announced on Tuesday, indicating it was a last minute decision necessitated by renewed fears of conflict in the region.
