Young cadets, SOS: Jaishankar explains why India let Iran ship dock in Kochi
India Today
This is the first time that the External Affairs Minister has spoken on the issue that saw the Middle East conflict reach India's backyard. Jaishankar said India acted out of 'humanity' in allowing Iranian ship, IRIS Lavan, to dock at Kochi.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that India acted out of "humanity" rather than considering geopolitical factors in allowing an Iranian navy ship to dock at Kochi amid its war with the US and Israel. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar also said the sinking of another Iranian ship, the IRIS Dena, by a US submarine in the Indian Ocean was "unfortunate", offering an official account of events that saw the war reach India's backyard.
The IRIS Lavan docked just days before a US torpedo sank the IRIS Dena on March 4, killing over 80 Iranian sailors. Around 32 personnel were later rescued by the Sri Lankan navy.
Jaishankar said on the day the US and Israel began their offensive on Iran, India received a request from Iran to allow one of its ships sailing in the region to dock at one of its ports. The ship, with 183 crew members, mostly young cadets, experienced a technical issue.
"We got a message from the Iranian side that one of the ships, which presumably was closest to our borders at that point of time, wanted to come into our port. They were reporting that they were having problems," Jaishankar said.
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