Arvind Kejriwal to PM Modi: Did Iranian President guarantee safe passage for Indian ships through Strait of Hormuz?

Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday sought to know from Prime Minister Narendra Modi if Iran has given an assurance that Indian ships would be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief's remarks came hours after Prime Minister Modi spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone and discussed the ‘serious situation’ in West Asia ever since joing US-Israel strikes on Iran.

The prime minister told the Iranian President that the safety and security of Indian nationals, along with the need for unhindered transit of goods and energy, remain India's top priorities.

In a post on X, the AAP leader asked whether Indians would soon get a reprieve from the serious situation arising out of the West Asia conflict.

"Prime Minister, has the President of Iran assured you that they will allow our ships to pass through Hormuz? Will the countrymen soon be rid of this serious crisis?" Kejriwal said in the Hindi post.

Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping passage through which India's substantial energy imports come.

Thursday's phone call was PM Modi's first conversation with an Iranian leader since the war broke out after joint US-Israel attacks on Iran on 28 February. Before him, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, during the ongoing Israel-US-Iran conflict.

Before speaking with the Iranian President on 12 March, PM Modi, in a diplomatic outreach to Gulf nations, discussed the evolving situation with leaders of the UAW, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar, among others.

The conversation came on day 13 of the escalating conflict in West Asia. Hours before Modi’s phone call with the Iranian president, the newly-appointed Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, said that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbours will continue.

"The number of Indian-flagged vessels operating in the Persian Gulf region remains unchanged,” Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Shipping Ministry, told reporters at the briefing on Thursday.

“Of these 28, 24 are located on the west of the Strait of Hormuz, which has 677 Indian seafarers and four vessels are on the east of the Strait with 101 Indian seafarers on board,” Sinha said.

All Indian vessels and crew thereon are being actively monitored for their safety and security, he said.

(With agency inputs)

Earlier, a report by Reuters and Indian news agencies said that at least two Indian tankers, the ‘Pushpak’ and the ‘Parimal’, were passing safely through the Strait of Hormuz even as ships from the US, Europe and Israel continued to face restrictions in the strategically important waterway.