PM Modi speaks to French Prez Macron, calls for ‘early restoration of peace’ in West Asia ::: Foreign Secy condoles Khamenei death

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron 

Amid growing concerns that the Middle East conflict could spill over into other areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (March 5) spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron. 

“Spoke with my friend President Emmanuel Macron today. We discussed our shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. We will continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace and stability in the region,” he wrote on X.

Prime Minister Modi spoke to eight leaders of West Asia since the beginning of the military conflict, before speaking to Macron on Thursday. The phone call also comes a day after the US sank an Iranian navy vessel off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, thus bringing its conflict with Tehran almost to India's doorstep. 

At least 84 sailors died, and 32 survivors were rescued by the Sri Lankan authorities. The vessel left India after taking part in the International fleet review just a few days ago.  

In the last few days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both sides. The US, on March 4, torpedoed the Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka.  

Sri Lanka's navy said that it received a distress signal from the ship at 5:08am on March 4. The Iranian warship had 180 people on board.

Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, condemned the attack and said that IRIS Dena was hit “without warning.” In an X post, Araghchi added that “the US will bitterly regret the precedent it has set.”

India condoles Khamenei's death, Foreign Secretary meets Iranian envoy

This is the first time India reacted to the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the joint strikes launched by the United States and Israel. The country did not issue a statement immediately after Khamenei was killed.  

Foreign Minister Dr S Jasihankar had a word with his Iranian counterpart, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, through a telephonic conversation.  

India had so far remained silent over the death of Ali Khamenei. It has also refrained from condemning outright the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, though PM Modi spoke to Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to stress the need for an early cessation of hostilities.  

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, on behalf of the Indian government, signed the book of condolence for Iran's erstwhile Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday. 

Khamenei, the 86-year-old former Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, had been ruling the country since 1989 and was killed in a combined military operation launched by the United States and Israel in the early hours of Saturday. Misri's action came as part of India's first reaction to the Supreme Leader's death.

With the remote border regions of Iran threatening to become a new front, Iran has warned “separatist groups” against joining the widening conflict. Tehran said on Thursday it had launched strikes against Iraq-based Kurdish groups “opposed to the revolution”.

Intense waves of airstrikes have hit dozens of military positions, frontier posts and police stations along northern parts of Iran’s border with Iraq in what appears to be preparation by US and Israel for a new front in their war. A US official with knowledge of the discussions between Washington and Kurdish officials said the US was ready to provide air support if Kurdish fighters crossed the border from northern Iraq.

A spokesperson for Israel’s military said the air force had been “heavily operating in western Iran to degrade Iranian capabilities there and to open up a way to Tehran and create freedom of operations there”.

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