Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will not surrender to the United States, speaking in New Delhi as he began his first visit to India for the BRICS Summit. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hosting Pezeshkian for a bilateral meeting, pressed for a diplomatic resolution to the Middle East conflict as the U.S.-Iran fighting keeps pushing up crude oil prices.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will not surrender to the U.S., telling a gathering of Indian religious leaders in New Delhi that Iran has resisted aggression from Washington and Israel. According to CNBC: "Iran has successfully stood against Israel and the U.S."
His remarks came days after President Donald Trump said Iran would have wiped out Israel and the Middle East, and struck U.S. cities, had Washington not taken military action against it. Trump added on Thursday that he would repeat the same course of action.
Modi urges dialogue and diplomacy
Pezeshkian, on his first visit to India, also held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. During the talks, Modi raised concerns about the safety of seafarers and underscored the need for peace and freedom of navigation and commerce, repeating his appeal to resolve the Middle East conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
Modi and Pezeshkian were photographed holding hands as they exited the BRICS Business Forum on Friday, a moment the Iranian embassy in India cited on social media to hail the two countries' historic friendship.
Hormuz disruptions squeeze oil-dependent economies
Shipments of oil and other cargo through the Strait of Hormuz have slowed to a trickle since the U.S. and Israel began their war on Iran on Feb. 28, stranding ships and seafarers for weeks or months at a time. In July, two vessels carrying 30 Indian seafarers were attacked while transiting the strait, and separately, 10 Indian seafarers have lost their lives due to the Middle East conflict, according to the Indian government.
Global crude oil prices have surged in response to the sharp escalation in fighting between the U.S. and Iran this month. That is a major concern for crude oil importers like India. The country imports nearly 85% of its fuel needs and relies on the energy supply chain running through the strait, leaving it among the economies most exposed to the disruption.
Source: CNBC
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