Tehran is working with Oman to introduce a “new service-and-payment framework” for merchant vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz to provide services such as navigational support and rescue operations, depending on the volume of cargo and the size of the ship, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said here on Wednesday.
Gharibabadi, who was part of the Iranian negotiating team for talks with the US, said Iran would welcome any initiative, including from India, to bring peace to West Asia. He was in New Delhi to attend the meeting of Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) national coordinators, a preparatory meeting ahead of the Brics foreign ministers’ meeting to be held in the national capital on Thursday and Friday.
The Brics foreign ministers’ meeting will be attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who left Tehran for New Delhi on Wednesday evening. Other participating foreign ministers, including Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday.
During a press interaction on Wednesday evening at the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi, the Iranian deputy foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz would be opened for free navigation once the war ends and the US lifts its blockade on Iranian ports and releases Iran’s frozen assets. “The Strait of Hormuz situation will be better than before once peace is established. There will be transparency. There will be no discrepancy. We will not go beyond international law. If peace is established, it will have more safety and security than before,” Gharibabadi said.
Responding to a question on 13 Indian vessels still stranded near the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian deputy foreign minister said 11 Indian-flagged vessels had transited the waterway and Iranian authorities were working to facilitate the passage of the remaining vessels. He said Iran considers India a friend and is trying to do its utmost to help. “We allowed several Indian vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Eleven Indian vessels passed. We are working for some more. This is not the case for any other country,” he said.
On Pakistan’s role as a mediator in Iran’s conflict with the US and Israel, Gharibabadi said: “We welcome any initiative. Earlier, Egypt, Qatar, and Oman mediated. A mediator is only facilitating, not negotiating. Pakistan came with an initiative, and we welcomed it. India has always supported peace and is in favour of peace. Whatever role India plays and comes with any initiative, we will welcome.”
Gharibabadi said the Brics foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi should oppose America’s unilateral coercive measures and their illegal and anti-development effects. “We are in favour of having a Brics declaration. We want the Brics hosted by India to be successful. We don’t want to give the message that Brics is divided. Only one neighbouring country of Iran is pushing to include condemnation of Iran for attacking its neighbours,” he said.
Alluding to the United Arab Emirates, the Iranian minister said only one country was blocking a joint Brics declaration. In Moscow, ahead of his departure for India, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov pledged that agreements on energy supplies to India would be fulfilled despite what he called unfair external competition.
In an interview with Russia Today India, Lavrov said: “I can guarantee that India’s interests, as they apply to Russian supplies, will not suffer. We will do everything to ensure that this unfair and dishonest competition does not damage our agreements.”
“The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is our flagship project. It meets a significant share of India’s needs,” he said. “Cooperation on the construction of new power units for this nuclear plant is continuing. Even so, India needs more. We continue supplying hydrocarbons such as gas, oil, and coal.”