EAM Jaishankar embarks on two-day visit to Iran amid Middle East crisis

In light of the extraordinary security circumstances surrounding the Red Sea, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will visit Iran for two days starting on Monday to talk with his counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. According to the announcement provided by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two ministers would discourse on bilateral, regional and global problems. “External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Iran on January 14 to 15 as part of the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two sides,” the MEA said in a statement on Saturday. “He will meet Foreign Minister of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues,” the statement added. It added political collaboration, connectivity initiatives and strong people-to-people ties will represent major components of the agenda of the talks between Jaishankar and Amir-Abdollahian. In light of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and Houthi terrorists’ targeting of merchant vessels in the Red Sea, Jaishankar’s scheduled travel to Tehran coincides with escalating global worries. Airstrikes against the Houthi positions in Yemen have already been carried out by the US and the UK. India has been keeping a careful eye on the events in the Red Sea. Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the matter over the phone on Thursday. With respect to the marine environment in the important sea lanes, such as the North and Central Arabian Sea, the Indian Navy has already improved the deployment of its frontline ships and observation planes for maritime security operations. US President Joe Biden declared he would not think twice about ordering additional action in response to the attacks that targeted the Houthi sites. It is probable that Jaishankar and Amir-Abdollahian would discuss enhancing regional connectivity via the Chabahar port. India and Iran are working to expand connectivity and economic relations at the Chabahar port, which is situated in the energy-rich Sistan-Balochistan province on the southern coast of Iran. India has been advocating for the Chabahar port project in order to increase trade throughout the region, particularly considering its proximity to Afghanistan. Jaishankar presented the Chabahar port as a major regional transit hub, including to Afghanistan, at a connectivity conference in Tashkent in 2021. The Chabahar port is also viewed as a vital center for the INSTC project. A multi-mode transport project spanning 7,200 km, the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is designed to move freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe. In November, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra traveled to Tehran to co-chair an India-Iran Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) meeting with Ali Bagheri Kani, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs. (With agency inputs)