India’s Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, has described direct engagement with Iran as the most effective way to resume shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday.
Speaking amid heightened tensions in the region, Jaishankar noted that diplomacy had already produced tangible results. “Talking has yielded some results,” he said, highlighting the safe passage of two Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, which transported around 92,712 metric tons of LPG through the Strait on Saturday. “Certainly, from India’s perspective, it is better that we reason and coordinate to get a solution than we don’t,” he added.
The comments came a day after Donald Trump called on nations to deploy warships to keep the Strait open, as Iranian forces responded to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. In a post on Truth Social, Trump expressed hope that countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea, and Britain would assist in safeguarding the vital waterway, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes.
Jaishankar clarified that there was no “blanket arrangement” for Indian vessels and that Iran had not received any reciprocal concessions. On whether European countries could adopt a similar approach, he said each country’s relationship with Tehran “stands on its own merits,” though he expressed willingness to share India’s approach with EU capitals, noting that many had already held talks with Iran.
“While this is a welcome development, there is continuing conversation because there is continued work on that,” Jaishankar told the Financial Times, emphasizing India’s preference for dialogue over confrontation.