Pakistan mediated between the United States and Iran in past too

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has conveyed to US President Donald Trump that the war in West Asia must end soon as it is "hurting everybody" while underlining that Pakistan has a history of mediating between US and Iran.

At Wednesday's all-party meeting, chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh, it was conveyed that around 18 ships remain stranded, five are on the way while several had already reached India via Hormuz.

On LNG supply, it was said shipments, which earlier took under two weeks from Qatar, may now take longer as sourcing diversifies to countries like Norway.


External affairs minister S Jaishankar informed that Modi expressed concerns with Trump during a telephonic talk, underlining India's position in favour of de-escalation, sources said. Modi conveyed to Trump that the war must end soon as it is "hurting everybody", sources quoted EAM as saying.

On Pakistan's role in mediation, Jaishankar said Islamabad has historically mediated between the US and Iran since 1981 as he underscored India's strategic autonomy in contrast to Pakistan. The meeting highlighted India's energy exposure, noting that in February about 20% of crude came from Russia.

It was conveyed that the US is India's largest trading partner, Israel remains its largest technology partner, and India continues to enjoy friendly and constructive relations with Iran.

Responding to CPI(M) MP John Brittas's query on India's 'silence' as statecraft, Jaishankar said the country was actively 'responding, commenting and posting', dismissing that silence was its policy, sources said.

The government said an Iranian ship that sank in the Indian Ocean had sought shelter and one vessel was accommodated. It was indicated had the other docked in India, its fate might have been different.

Foreign secretary Vikram Misri briefed on disruptions in shipping lanes, especially via Hormuz.