3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Aug 1, 2026 08:04 AM IST
A day after the government informed Parliament that 16 Indian nationals, including 10 seafarers, had been killed and another 75 injured in West Asia since the start of the conflict in February, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Iranian counterpart Syed Abbas Araghchi Friday and “strongly urged” Iran to avoid attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers under any circumstances.
Jaishankar’s phone conversation with Araghchi came a day after he conveyed India’s concern over attacks on cargo vessels and seafarers to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha
“Had a tele-conversation with FM Araghchi of Iran this evening. Conveyed our deep concerns at the ongoing hostilities in the region,” Jaishankar said after the conversation.
“Strongly urged that attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers be avoided under any circumstance,” he said in a post on X, adding, “India condemns any such attack by any party.”
“Was apprised of Iran’s perspective of current developments and discussions underway,” Jaishankar said, underlining that “India is always supportive of dialogue and diplomacy”.
Over the past few days, New Delhi has expressed deep worry over a spate of attacks on merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea, which have resulted in the death of Indian seafarers. It has condemned such actions by any party in the conflict.
This is the first time India has framed such a strong response and conveyed it to all parties concerned, having lost 10 seafarers in the West Asia conflict in attacks by either Iran or the United States.
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Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told Rajya Sabha Thursday that 16 Indian nationals, including 10 seafarers, were killed and another 75 injured in the West Asia conflict since February.
On July 14, the Ministry of External Affairs had summoned Iranian Deputy Chief of Mission, Mohammad Javed Hosseini, to register a “strong protest” after an Indian sailor died and several were seriously injured when two UAE-flagged energy tankers carrying Indian seafarers were hit by Iranian cruise missiles earlier in the day.
Earlier this week, responding to a question on the safety of Indian seafarers, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the MEA, said India has consistently emphasised that commercial shipping, seafarers, civilians and civilian infrastructure must not be targeted under any circumstances.
More than 165 Indian seafarers are presently operating in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. According to the MEA, 125 of these sailors are aboard six Indian-flagged vessels located west of the strait, while another 41 work on foreign-flagged ships.
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Last month, the MEA also summoned the US Chargé d’Affaires, Jason Meeks, and lodged a strong protest regarding continuing attacks by US naval forces on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman. Three Indian lives were lost.
Jaishankar and Araghchi have been in regular touch ever since the US-Iran conflict started on February 28 this year.
The phone call Friday was the eighth conversation between the two ministers, besides their bilateral meeting when Araghchi visited New Delhi in May for a meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers.