National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met a senior Iranian security official on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting on Monday and reviewed the situation in West Asia, the first such contact between the two sides since Iran and the United States reached an understanding on de-escalation in the region.
Doval met Ghadir Nezamipour, Deputy Minister of Defense Affairs at Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and they reviewed the situation in West Asia and discussed cooperation within the framework of the BRICS platform and Indo-Iranian relations, Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said on social media.
Nezamipour is the first senior Iranian official to travel to New Delhi since Iran and the United States signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding on June 17 outlining steps to de-escalate the situation in West Asia and Tehran, and paving the way for further negotiations.
After talks in Switzerland between an American delegation headed by Vice President J.D. Vance and an Iranian delegation headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the two sides agreed to form a high-level committee “to provide political oversight of the mediation.”
The Indian side is closely monitoring developments, as the outcome will have an impact on several critical issues, including the lifting of US sanctions that will allow India to resume purchasing Iranian oil and the future of New Delhi’s participation in the development of the Chabahar port, especially after the US ended the exemption from sanctions targeting the facility in April.
Iran is also expected to send Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad and one of its deputy energy ministers to a meeting of BRICS energy ministers hosted by India in Gurugram from June 25-26, people familiar with the matter said. This meeting will focus on strengthening cooperation in the field of energy security, sustainability and innovation, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Energy on Sunday.
The BRICS energy ministers’ meeting comes “at a time when countries around the world are working to balance energy security, affordability and sustainability,” and the priorities of the BRICS energy agenda “strongly resonate with India’s own sustainable development path that focuses on meeting growing energy demand while enhancing energy security and energy access, and enhancing grid resilience.” [and] “Diversifying sources of supply,” the reading said.
Doval also met with the Executive Director of Analysis of the Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service, Million Lemma Tadesse, on the sidelines of the BRICS National Security Agencies meeting. The two sides explored areas of cooperation to deepen the strategic partnership between India and Ethiopia.
