Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (March 21, 2026) spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the occasion of Id and the Persian new year Nowruz and urged for “freedom of navigation”, indicating India’s growing concern over disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy route between the Gulf and India.

President Pezeshkian, on his part, referred to the current presidency of India in the BRICS grouping and said it should play an “independent role” in bringing the attacks by the U.S. and Israel to a “halt”. He said the “prerequisite” to bringing the war to an end is the “immediate cessation of aggressions by the U.S. and Israel”.

Soon after this, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar also spoke with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi and discussed the evolving conflict and the “implications for the larger region”.

Also read: Israel-Iran war LIVE updates

“Spoke with President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian and conveyed Id and Nowruz greetings. We expressed hope that this festive season brings peace, stability and prosperity to West Asia. Condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, which threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains. Reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure,” said Prime Minister Modi in a social media post after the conversation.

The Embassy of Iran issued a press note about the phone call and said, President Pezeshkian “underscored that the prerequisite for ending the war and conflict in the region is the immediate cessation of aggressions by the U.S. and Israel, along with guarantees against their recurrence in the future.”

He also expressed his country’s “readiness to engage in both telephone and in-person dialogues with world leaders, including on the sidelines of the UN” for verification of the peaceful intent of Iran’s nuclear programme and described U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran as “profoundly inhumane and unethical”. He also proposed the creation of a “regional security framework” which will be composed of countries of West Asia and will be free of “foreign interference”.  

President Pezeshkian referred to India’s current presidency of BRICS and urged for the group to “play an independent role in halting aggressions against Iran and in safeguarding regional and international peace and stability”.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had spoken to Mr. Pezeshkian on March 12 when he had pressed for giving space to diplomacy to resolve the crisis and had emphasised the need for safety and security of Indian nationals in the Arab states of the region, as well as in Iran.

India has so far evacuated around 882 Indian businessmen, students and pilgrims from Iran through neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan, said Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on March 20. However, the main escalating fallout of this conflict for India has been the issue of energy insecurity because of Iran’s tightening chokehold across the Strait of Hormuz, which is not allowing free movement of energy-carrying tankers to India, as well as growing concern for the safety of Indian sailors in dozens of Indian and global merchant navy ships that are stuck inside the Gulf.

India is also concerned about the fatalities of its nationals in the tankers as well as cities in the Gulf states, where millions of Indians work as expat blue and white-collar workers. The latest fatality was recorded on March 18 in Saudi capital Riyadh where an Indian man was killed because of an Iranian missile strike that pushed up the number of Indians killed in this conflict so far to six, with one missing and presumed to be dead.

President Pezeshkian dismissed allegations of Iran as a “source of instability and tension in the region” and said, “it is Israel that carries out attacks and assassinations in Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, and elsewhere, justifying such actions under the pretext of maintaining security and peace, while in reality fueling unrest and conflict across the region.”  

Mr. Jaishankar discussed the evolving scenario with his counterpart Mr. Araghchi. “Our conversation was on the latest developments regarding the conflict. And its implications for the larger region,” said Mr. Jaishankar after the call.

Mr. Modi and Mr. Jaishankar, over the past several days, have been connected to regional stakeholders and holding telephone discussions calling for a pause in the war that started when the U.S. and Israel bombed Tehran on February 28, killing the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mr. Jaishankar spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Friday (March 20, 2026). Officials here described the phone calls as part of a “developing situation”.