Hyderabad, April 19
Dr Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, representative of Iran's Supreme Leader in India, on Sunday emphasised the strength of India-Iran relations following the shooting incident involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz, while calling for peace in the region.
"Our relationship with India is very strong... India has benefited from the good relationship between Iran and India in getting their oil and tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Prime Minister of India had very successful conversations with the President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, and the EAM had several successful conversations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran," he told the media.
"The relationship between Iran and India is rooted in 5,000 years of history. Iranians are connected to India by culture, civilisation, education, humanity, and philosophy. Our relationship is very strong and will continue to grow stronger," Ilahi added.
Earlier, commenting on the incident, he said, "The relationship between Iran and India is very strong, and I don't know anything about this event which you mentioned, and we hope that it will be okay and it will be solved."
Calling for de-escalation, he added, "We don't want this war. We want peace, and we hope that the other side will also follow peace so that we can have a peaceful area."
On the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, Ilahi said the disruption was linked to ongoing security concerns.
"The Strait of Hormuz was open, and due to the imposed war against Iran, it was closed, because of the security issues, and we hope that very soon it will be open...Yes, it was open for some time, but as there are some problems and crises around Iran, they wanted to be sure that the problems would be solved and it would be open very soon," he said.
His remarks came after Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed from this evening, CNN reported.
In a statement, the IRGC said several vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, but "due to the violation of the ceasefire conditions, the American enemy did not lift the naval blockade of Iranian vessels and ports", according to CNN.
"Therefore, from this evening, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until this blockade is lifted," the statement read, as per CNN.
"We warn that no vessel should move from its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the violating vessel will be targeted", the statement continued, as reported by CNN.
"Also, we inform all vessels and their owners to follow news only from the official IRGC Navy authority and through Channel 16, and the statements of the terrorist US president in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf have no credibility", it concluded, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, speaking in Lucknow on Iran-US peace talks held in Islamabad, Ilahi said negotiations had failed due to disagreements over the framework.
"We offered a 10-point plan to the US to be the base of negotiation, and it was accepted by the US. They were supposed to come and negotiate based on this plan. When they came to Pakistan and started negotiations, they started demanding something else, and they refused to negotiate based on the 10-point plan. So, the negotiation failed, and now Iran has received some other proposal from the US, and maybe they will negotiate later. But upto now, there is no achievement of that negotiation," he said.
- ANI
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