Amid the Middle East crisis, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has reached Tehran, Iran on Monday for his two-day visit. Jaishankar met with Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash and said "productive" discussions took place.
Discussions on the vital Chabahar port, and International North-South Transport Corridor dominated the talks.
"Began my engagements in Tehran by meeting Minister of Roads and Urban Development @mehrdadbazrpash. Detailed and productive discussion on establishing a long-term cooperation framework with respect to Chabahar port. Also exchanged views on the International North-South Transport Corridor," he said in a post on X.
India has been pushing for Chabahar port project inorder to boost the connectivity and trade, especially to Afghanistan. The port is located in Sistan-Balochistan province on the Iran's southern coast.
Chabahar port was portrayed as a key regional transit hub at the connectivity conference in Tashkent in 2021.
The Chabahar port is also seen as a key hub for the INSTC project.
The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
Jaishankar’s visit also comes in the wake of the Red Sea tensions, with Iran-backed Houthis targeting commercial vessels. EAM is set to meet his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and discuss a range of key issues including the security situation in the Red Sea.
Jaishankar and Amir-Abdollahian are also likely to deliberate on boosting regional connectivity through the Chabahar port.
Since the Israel-Gaza war broke out, regional tensions began to escalate. Houthis in Yemen vowed to target any vessels trying to reach Israel through Red Sea. The recent US-UK strikes, targeting Houthi positions in Yemen, has worsened the situation.
Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Thursday and shared concerns over the Houthi attacks affecting the free flow of commerce, endangering innocent mariners, and violation of international law.
Red Sea is a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade.