PM Chairs Late-Night Security Meet on West Asia Tensions
India is closely monitoring the situation in the wake of killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei
New Delhi: In a strong political message condemning the Iranian drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates without naming Iran, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, late on Sunday evening, spoke with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and expressed complete solidarity. “Thanked him for taking care of the Indian community living in the UAE. We support de-escalation, regional peace, security and stability,” Mr Modi posted on X after the talks.
Prime Minister Modi also chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) late on Sunday night after his return from Tamil Nadu to take stock of the conflict in the oil-rich West Asian region that has lakhs of Indian nationals working and is vital for India’s energy security.
India is closely monitoring the situation in the wake of killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei in joint American-Israeli strikes and on Iranian strikes on Gulf nations including India’s close partner the UAE. Till late on Sunday night, India had not officially reacted specifically to the killing of the Iranian supreme leader.
Meanwhile, the severe disruption in the aviation sector continued, with the civil aviation ministry saying that “in view of airspace restrictions, a total of 350 flights operated by Indian domestic carriers were cancelled on Sunday. As many as 410 such flights were cancelled earlier on Saturday as many are stranded at airports across the region.”
External affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar spoke to his counterparts in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait in the early hours of Sunday and with his counterpart from Oman late on Sunday evening. Confirming the death of its supreme leader, the Iranian Embassy in India earlier in the day appealed to “independent and freedom-seeking governments around the world to strongly condemn” the killing and “refrain from remaining silent in the face of lawlessness and aggression”.
The UAE also confirmed injury to one Indian national in Iranian drone strikes following which the Indian Embassy there said the Indian national is out of danger and that Indian diplomats are in touch with hospital authorities. Meanwhile, New Delhi issued an advisory stating that “all foreign nationals in India, who have had to change their travel plans due to the ongoing developments in the West Asia region and need assistance with extension of their visa or to regularize their stay, are requested to contact the nearest Foreigners Regional Registration Office ( FRRO) which will help with necessary formalities”.
According to reports, a few thousand Indian students are stuck in Iran and are desperate for evacuation which does not seem possible currently from Iran given the high tensions in the region and Israeli missiles raining down on the country. While the Indian Embassy in Tehran had last Monday asked all Indian nationals to leave the country immediately, many have not done so.
A Indian medical girl-student hailing from Kashmir told news agencies that she could not act as per the advisory as her Iranan university threatened to fail her in the exams if she left. Also, there are lakhs of Indian workers working in the Gulf Arab countries besides thousands of Indian nationals working and living in Israel.