External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday spoke about the concerns surrounding Iran and Israel and said that New Delhi has told the countries to "calm down". Notably, Iran launched a barrage of explosive drones and missiles at Israel late Saturday, marking its first-ever direct attack on Israeli territory which further increased the tensions between the two countries. Iran’s attack came after the April 1 attack on Iran's embassy building in Syria’s Damascus, which reportedly killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two high-ranking generals, and fueled heightened tensions.
Jaishankar emphasized that the Middle East's stability was crucial because there are over one crore Indian residents residing there. He also informed that he spoke to both Israel and Iran on Sunday and talked about the escalating tensions.
"We have been telling them not to allow this (the situation) to escalate and that this is a very crucial region for the global economy. A large part of our shipping passes through this region and also, the oil comes from there. This is an enormously sensitive region," he said.
"This is an enormously sensitive region. So we are very concerned when there is this kind of escalation and hostilities. So our effort has been to tell both of them to calm down. So yesterday, I made a phone call to both, not only Iran (Foreign Minister) Hossein Amir-Abdollahian but also I called up my Israeli counterpart (Israel Katz)," he added.
Iran-Israel War: Air India Suspends Flight To Tel Aviv
Air India on Sunday said that it will temporarily suspend flights to Tel Aviv amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. An official informed about the same saying that the flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv will not operate for now. There are four weekly flights operated by Air India between the Israeli city and the nation's capital.
Iran-Israel War: Israeli Envoy Assures Safety Of Indian Workers There
The question of the safety of the Indian workers was arising as Iran and Israel entered into a war. Addressing concerns about the safety and security of the Indian workers, Gilon underlined that Israel is doing its maximum to protect everyone in Israel and that the workers are no different from other Israeli citizens.