India hasn’t been in touch with the U.S. on President Donald Trump’s plan to form a multinational naval grouping to secure the Strait of Hormuz, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told an Indian inter-ministerial briefing in New Delhi on Monday.
"We are aware of this particular matter being discussed by several countries. We have not yet discussed it in bilateral setting (with the U.S.)," Jaiswal said in response to a question.
Jaiswal reiterated that New Delhi was in touch with several regional governments on the issue of safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. These include the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iran, Israel and the U.S.
"We continue with our discussions with several stakeholders in this regard. External Affairs Minister (EAM S Jaishankar) in an interview also has spoken about it," the MEA Spokesperson said.
In response to another question, Jaiswal reiterated that India continues to call for deescalation of the conflict and stressed that "sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states must be respected".
He said that India and Iran have a "history of engagement".
In an interview carried by Financial Times on Monday, Jaishankar said that "direct talks" with Iran have yielded some results, as two Indian-flagged LPG carriers were given a safe passage through the Straits. While one of the tankers, Shivalik, has docked at the Mundra Port a while ago, another tanker, Nanda Devi, is destined for Kandla and is scheduled to dock on Tuesday.
Jaishankar, who has held four telephone calls with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi since the outbreak of the war, also emphasised to FT that there has been no "blanket arrangement" with Iran for Indian-flagged ships and that "every ship movement is an individual happening".
Around 22 Indian vessels remain stuck on the western side of the Strait of Hormuz, awaiting a safe passage, Indian officials have said.