‘No alternative to dialogue, diplomacy’ in the region: India welcomes Israel-Iran ceasefire

The Ministry of External Affairs said in an official statement: “We have been following developments overnight relating to the conflict between Iran and Israel, including the US action against Iran’s nuclear facilities and Iranian retaliation against US military bases in Qatar.”

“While we remain deeply concerned about the prospects for overall and sustained regional security and stability, we welcome reports of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel and the role played by the US and Qatar in bringing it about,” it said.

“We wish to reiterate that there is no alternative to dialogue and diplomacy in order to address and resolve the multiple conflicts in the region,” it said.

India stands ready to play its part in these efforts and hopes that all concerned parties will work towards sustained peace and stability, it said. India has been in touch with Israel and Iran throughout the crisis. PM Narendra Modi has spoken to both Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

This happened on a day when 268 Indian nationals returned in the third flight from Israel in the IAF C-17 flight from Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt. With that 862 Indian nationals had been evacuated.

A total of 2,295 Indian nationals were evacuated from Iran — the latest being 292 Indian nationals were evacuated on a special flight that arrived in New Delhi from Mashhad at 3:30 am on Tuesday.

The hostilities between Israel and Iran had got New Delhi worried as it has almost 8 to 9 million Indians living and working in the West Asian region. Any threat to the peace and stability in the region means that the safety and security of these Indian nationals is in jeopardy. That has always been Delhi’s biggest concern.

Since India imports almost 60 per cent of its energy from the West Asian region, the conflict has an impact on India’s energy security. This, eventually, would have an impact on the inflation and economy of India making it the second important factor behind India’s concern over the conflict.