India said on Tuesday that reports about India talking to Iran to exchange ships that were seized are not true. India called these reports “baseless”.
Indias Ministry of External Affairs said that India and Iran did not have any talks about this. This is happening at a time when there is a lot of tension in the Gulf region because of the conflict in West Asia. Some media reports said that Iran wanted to make a deal with India. Iran wanted India to return three tankers that belong to Iran. In return Iran would make sure that Indian ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz safely.
“No discussion of this nature”
The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal said that India and Iran did not have any talks about exchanging ships. He said that the ships that India seized do not belong to Iran. So there is no question of India giving these ships to Iran.
Some reports said that India seized three tankers. Asphalt Star, Al Jafzia and Stellar Ruby. India said that these ships were doing some things like changing their identity and taking fuel from other ships in the middle of the sea.
India is talking to Iran
Even though India said that it is not going to exchange ships with Iran India is still talking to Iran. India wants to make sure that its ships and crew members are safe. Many Indian ships are stuck near the Strait of Hormuz because of the tension in the region. Indias priority is to get its ships and crew members safely.
Why the Strait of Hormuz is important
The Strait of Hormuz is an important place for ships to pass through. Many ships that carry oil and gas pass through this place. For India this route is very important because India gets a lot of its energy from ships that pass through this route.
Recently there have been some fights between Iran, the United States and Israel. This has made it difficult for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This is a problem for India because it affects Indias energy security.
India wants to talk things out
India has always said that it wants to solve problems by talking to people. India does not want to make deals. The External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar said that each ships passage is handled individually. There is no rule for all ships.
This is Indias approach to policy. India wants to balance its interests and keep relations with other countries in the region.
Whats happening now
Even though there is a lot of tension some good things have happened. Some Indian ships have been able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This shows that Indias efforts to talk to countries are working.
However many Indian ships are stuck near the Strait of Hormuz. The situation is still not safe. The next few days will be very important for Indias maritime and energy security. India and Iran will have to keep talking to each other to solve this problem. India and the Strait of Hormuz are very important, for each other.
