Trump's call to PM Modi a damage control as Pakistan plays mediator?
India Today
US President Donald Trump dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, four weeks after the Iran war started. The timing is crucial, coming on the back of Pakistan's emergence as Trump's choice as a mediator. Was Trump's call a damage-control exercise?
Nearly four weeks into the Iran war, US President Donald Trump called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. A day before, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. At the same time, the US Under Secretary of War is on a visit to India. The flurry of the US's engagements with India has raised a question. Why now? There is a Pakistan angle to it.
Trump's sudden call to PM Modi and the outreach to India have been interpreted by geopolitical experts as a damage-control exercise. The timing is critical, coming at a time when Pakistan has emerged as the US's mediator of choice with Iran to end the conflict. In fact, Islamabad may host top US officials for negotiations with Iran soon. The optics of it are bound to cause unease in New Delhi. The US is well aware of that.
US Ambassador Sergio Gor, who has been key in getting Washington-Delhi ties back on track after a brief strain, told a media house that Trump wanted to keep PM Modi "in the loop" over the latest developments. Crucially, the call came a day after Trump paused for five days his threat of striking Iran's power plants and claimed the US was holding "productive" talks with Iran.
The news of the Trump-Modi call, the first since the war and the second this year, was first disclosed by Gor. "They discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open," Gor said.
Around 20% of the world's oil and gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz. The war has not only severely reduced shipments through the critical chokepoint, but has sent global oil prices soaring.
India, which imports 90% of its energy needs, has borne the brunt of the economic fallout. While Iran has allowed a handful of Indian oil and LPG tankers to pass the strait, it has not stopped triggering a cooking gas crisis in the country. Thus, India is both a stakeholder and a victim, as underlined by geopolitical expert Brahma Chellaney.
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