India can play a role in de-escalating tensions in Gulf: Javad Zarif

New Delhi: Iran on Wednesday indicated that it was ready for diplomacy to ease tensions in West Asia, and that India could play an important role in such efforts. But its foreign minister said Tehran was not interested in talking to the US.

‘Iran is interested in diplomacy, not interested in negotiating with the US,’ Javad Zarif said in New Delhi, when asked if there was a diplomatic solution to the spike in tensions following the assassination of Iranian general Qaseem Soleimani.

Zarif was speaking at a session during Raisina Dialogue, India’s annual foreign policy meet organised by the foreign ministry and the Observer Research Foundation. This is his first visit abroad after the general’s killing in a US drone attack earlier this month.


Tehran hopes that India can help improve the situation. ‘India can play a role in de-escalating tensions in the Gulf region as New Delhi is an important player,’ Zarif said.

During his speech at the Dialogue, the Iranian foreign minister exhorted Europe not to be bullied by the US vis-à-vis Iran. He said his country had suffered damages worth hundreds of billions following the new developments in the region.

Zarif utilised the opportunity to meet his counterparts from Russia and Europe, as part of efforts to keep open the diplomatic channels with European countries.

The Iranian minister reportedly criticised Europe’s failure to honour their commitments under the nuclear deal, and slammed their move to trigger the dispute resolution mechanism as baseless in legal terms and a strategic mistake in political terms. Referring to Indo-Iranian ties, Zarif said Indians had mourned the assassination of Soleimani with 430 cities in this country spontaneously holding demonstrations.