Within days of speaking with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, a day before US and UK launched a joint assault on Houthis in Yemen, EAM Jaishankar will be meeting Iranian officials

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be holding talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian Monday, discussing the evolving situation at the Red Sea after the US and the UK launched a joint assault on Tehran-backed Houthi rebel, in Tehran The Houthi rebels have been attacking merchant ships in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, for which the Indian Navy had to also deploy warships in across the Arabian Sea.

Jaishankar is expected to also call on Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi during the short trip as the growing tensions have the potential to open yet another front for an open conflict, and this time on the high seas that has crucial global trade passing through them, top-level sources told ABP LIVE on the condition of anonymity.

The visit comes within days of Jaishankar speaking to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who is believed to have informed India about the Thursday attacks. The External Affairs Minister’s visit to Tehran was also discussed during the phone-call with Blinken, the sources said.

Jaishankar had also held a phone conversation with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong.

The sources also said India, which shares friendly ties with both Tehran as well as Washington, is also not ruling out the opportunity to play the larger role of a mediator to calm the tensions rising on the ocean waters as that will push New Delhi to deploy its assets being strategically located in the Indian Ocean region.

Iraj Elahi, Ambassador of Iran to India, has already reached Tehran to pave the way for the visit.

Isolate And Marginalise Iran, Says Washington

On the intervening night of January 11 and 12, the US and the UK jointly carried out a series of attacks on several sites inside Yemen that are believed to the strongholds of Iran-backed Houthis. The US as well as the British government have said the attacks were launched in the wake of the insurgent groups relentless attacks on merchant ships passing through the Red Sea.

“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history … I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary,” Biden said in a statement.

According to Blinken, the US’ aim is “to isolate and marginalise Iran and the kinds of actions it’s taking through its proxies” like the Houthis and the Hezbollah.

The Houthis are believed to have also attacked merchant vehicles passing through India’s Exclusive Economic Zone as a result of which the Indian Navy has deployed over 10 warships from the northern and central Arabian Sea till the Gulf of Aden.

The fact that the UK will be bombing Houthi sites was also believed to have been discussed during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to the UK earlier this week.

The warships are mostly guided-missile destroyers such as INS Kolkata, INS Kochi, INS Chennai and INS Mormugao among others. Apart from these, the Navy has also deployed multi-role frigates such as INS Talwar and INS Tarkash to keep an eye on the merchant ships traversing the Arabian Sea region and India’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

Meanwhile, Admiral Fahad Abdullah S. Al-Ghofaily, Chief of Staff, Royal Saudi Naval Forces, is currently touring India. Admiral Fahad Abdullah S Al-Ghofaily called on Adm R. Hari Kumar, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Thursday and both have discussed the ongoing crisis from the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea.

On the attacks in Yemen, Riyadh has said it is monitoring the situation with “great concern".

Houthi Attacks In Red Sea Are ‘Illegal & Destabilizing’

The attacks launched by the US and UK have also been supported by the governments of Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore as they seek to de-escalate tensions in the Red Sea.

These countries have also issued a joint statement in which they said: “Ongoing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilizing. There is no lawful justification for intentionally targeting civilian shipping and naval vessels.”

Nearly 15 percent of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea, including 8 percent of global grain trade, 12 percent of seaborne-traded oil and 8 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas trade, the statement said.

It added that international shipping companies continue to reroute their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, adding significant cost and weeks of delay to the delivery of goods, and ultimately jeopardizing the movement of critical food, fuel, and humanitarian assistance throughout the world.