NEW DELHI: As energy prices rise due to conflict in West Asia, Iran has held the United States responsible for disruptions in the shipping of crude oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, saying that Washington’s “destabilizing actions” are the cause of the problem.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said this in a statement on Wednesday while providing details of the phone conversation that took place last night between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araqchi.
It said that Araqchi provided Jaishankar with a “detailed” description of the “crimes” committed by the United States and Israel against Iran over the past 11 days, including the missile attack on a girls’ school in Minab and subsequent strikes on civilian sites.
The statement said that Khamenei affirmed Iran’s determination to comprehensively defend Iran’s safety.
She added that the two foreign ministers also discussed the consequences of disturbances in the movement of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian Foreign Ministry blamed the United States for disrupting the flow of energy through the corridor.
Global oil and gas prices rose after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, which handles nearly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.
The statement read: “Referring to Iran’s principled approach to protecting the security of shipping in the Persian Gulf, the Iranian Foreign Minister recalled that the unsafe situation and problems arising from shipping in the Persian Gulf are the result of aggressive and destabilizing actions undertaken by the United States, and the international community must hold the United States accountable for this situation.”
Regarding the general situation, the Iranian reading described the “aggressive action carried out by the United States and Israel” as “a violation of the basic principles and rules of the United Nations Charter and international law.”
She said all governments had a responsibility to condemn “this military aggression and flagrant violation of the law.”
The statement said, “The Indian Foreign Minister, while stressing the importance of continuing and strengthening bilateral relations between Tehran and New Delhi, stressed the necessity of continuing consultations to help restore stability in the region.”
Jaishankar said on Tuesday evening that he had a “detailed” conversation with Araghchi.
“I had a detailed conversation this evening with Iranian Foreign Minister @araghchi about the latest developments related to the ongoing conflict. We agreed to stay in touch,” he said on social media.
This was the third phone conversation between the two foreign ministers since the United States and Israel launched the military attack against Iran on February 28.
Jaishankar and Araghchi spoke on February 28, shortly after the United States and Israel launched the attack on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They spoke again on March 5.
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