PM Modi discusses West Asia, Chabahar port with Iran President

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, November 6

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke with Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi in which the two sides discussed the wider ramifications of the Israel-Hamas conflict and increased use of the India-operated Iranian port of Chabahar.

Bilateral cooperation

Good exchange of perspectives with (the) President of Iran on the difficult situation in West Asia and the Israel-Hamas conflict. Welcomed the progress in our bilateral cooperation, including on the Chabahar port. Narendra Modi, prime minister

“Good exchange of perspectives with (the) President of Iran on the difficult situation in West Asia and the Israel-Hamas conflict…. Welcomed the progress in our bilateral cooperation, including on the Chabahar port,” wrote PM Modi on X after the phone call.

While India and Iran do not concur on the Israel-Hamas conflict in which Tehran has a pivotal role, the leaders’ highlighting of the Chabahar port in their conversation on Monday comes at a time when a high-level Afghan delegation is visiting Iran to discuss its use. “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,’’ added PM Modi on X which, however, did not contain any call for a ceasefire.

Close on the heels of Kabul’s estrangement with Pakistan over the forcible deportation of refugees, Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi met with the Taliban government’s economic policy chief Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tehran. The 30-member Afghan delegation will discuss the formation of joint working groups in fields such as trade, transit, transportation and customs, said IRNA news agency.

Landlocked Afghanistan usually uses the Pakistani port of Karachi for export and import of goods. The ongoing talks in Tehran will discuss the use of the Chabahar port where India operates two berths. Tehran is also active in the conflict and Hamas chief Ismael Haniyeh had recently met the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini while its Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was in Lebanon last week conferring with Hezbollah officials. The Americans, according to Amirabdollahian, have also been touch for the past three days.

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