India, Iran to talk safe passage through Hormuz at BRICS meet

New Delhi: India and Iran will hold talks on safe navigation of Indian flagged ships carrying energy through the Strait of Hormuz, on the sidelines of the BRICS Sherpa and foreign ministers' meetings in New Delhi this week. Over the past few weeks, India has found it challenging for its ships to navigate the strait and bilateral talks on the issue have not yielded any solution so far, said people familiar with the issue.

Iran's deputy foreign minister, who will attend the BRICS Sherpa meeting, may also represent his country at the meeting of foreign ministers if Iran's foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi is unable to attend the conference on May 14-15.

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Araghchi may skip the meeting if tensions flare up further in the Persian Gulf, people said. Notably, the Brics meeting will see the deputy FMs of both Iran and the UAE on the same platform for the first time since the war.

Earlier, BRICS' special representatives on West Asia and North Africa met in New Delhi but failed to reach an agreement on framing a joint statement. All eyes will now be on the BRICS foreign ministers meeting as a lack of consensus on the West Asia conflict has plagued the group so far due to sharp differences between the UAE and Iran which were admitted into the bloc of emerging developing nations in 2023.

It is understood that hosts India and the Iranian side will hold conversations this week on Indian tankers that are unable to cross the Hormuz strait. Currently, around 40-50 India-bound ships are trapped west of the strait, unable to navigate, impacting India's energy security. As many as 11 Indian ships have exited the strait following diplomatic engagement with Iran since the war.

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Addressing a weekly media briefing last week, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi remains in touch with Tehran to facilitate the movement of the remaining ships. "We have seen forward movement and, as a result of forward movement, diplomatic engagement and conversations with the Iranian side, so far 11 Indian ships have exited the Strait of Hormuz," he said. "Thirteen ships continue to be there in the Persian Gulf, and we continue to be in touch with the Iranian authorities, so that the remaining ships can also cross the Strait of Hormuz and come to India, which is their destination."

The development comes amid signs of easing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway through which about 40% of India's crude and 90% of LPG imports pass.