All nations have a responsibility to condemn US-Israeli aggression, Iran tells India

Jaishankar spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday, for the third time since the war started.

New Delhi: All nations “have a responsibility” to condemn the act of aggression by Israel and the United States against Iran in violation of the United Nations Charter, Tehran has told New Delhi, which has not yet denounced the attacks on the Persian Gulf country since February 28.

With the conflict triggering fears about a disruption in energy supply from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to India, Tehran also conveyed to New Delhi that the United States must be held accountable for the insecurity around the shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday, for the third time since Israel and the United States launched the missile strikes on the Persian Gulf nation on February 28. “A detailed conversation this evening with Foreign Minister @araghchi of Iran on the latest developments regarding the ongoing conflict. We agreed to remain in touch.” Jaishankar posted on X, without elaborating on his discussion with his counterpart.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Iran, however, issued a press release early on Wednesday, putting out more details on the discussion between the two.

Araghchi detailed the 'crimes' committed by Israel and the US against Iran over the past 11 days, including the missile attack on an elementary school for girls in Minab on the first day of the war and subsequent widespread attacks on civilian sites and public service centres in the West Asian Islamic republic. He emphasised Tehran’s determination to comprehensively defend the integrity of Iran.

“The foreign minister described the aggressive act by the US and the Israeli regime as a violation of the fundamental principles and rules of the United Nations Charter and international law, noting that all governments have a responsibility to condemn this military aggression and blatant law-breaking,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran said in the press release.

India refrained from condemning the missile on Iran by Israel and the US, the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei, and the sinking of the Iranian Navy ship IRIS Dena in a submarine attack by the US in the Indian Ocean.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited the Embassy of Iran in New Delhi on Thursday and signed the condolence register for the slain Supreme Leader of the West Asian Islamic republic. He, however, just expressed condolences on behalf of the people and the Government of India on the demise of the religious leader, without any reference to how he had been killed.

The Indian Navy issued a press release on its participation in the Search and Rescue operations after a US submarine torpedoed the IRIS Dena, an Iranian Navy frigate, off Galle in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Sri Lanka on March 4. But the press release by the Indian Navy avoided any reference to the role of the US in the sinking of the ship.

The IRIS Dena was returning after participating in the Milan 2026 multilateral naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy off Visakhapatnam between February 15 and 25.

Jaishankar and Araghchi also discussed the consequences of the Israeli American military aggression against Iran on the security of shipping and vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Referring to Iran's principled approach to safeguarding shipping security in the Persian Gulf, Araghchi reminded that the insecure situation and problems arising for shipping in the Persian Gulf are a result of the aggressive and destabilising actions of the US, and the international community must hold the US accountable for this situation, according to the press release issued in Tehran on Wednesday.

The attacks by the US and Israel on Iran, the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, and the counterattacks by Iran on Israel and the US military bases in the Gulf widened the conflict in West Asia over the past few days.

As close to half of India’s crude oil imports, nearly 2.5 million barrels per day, as well as a sizeable share of its liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas supplies, are typically transported through the Strait of Hormuz, the security uncertainty around the narrow shipping lane in the Persian Gulf due to the escalating conflict triggered fears about the disruption of energy supply from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to the South Asian country.