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Finland PM suggests India could broker Iran-US ceasefire: ‘We saw Jaishankar calling for it’
In an interview, Finland PM Alexander Stubb called for a ceasefire between Iran, US and Israel and wondered if Europeans or India could aid that.
Finland Prime Minister Alexander Stubb has suggested that India could intervene in the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US that has cast a shadow on global energy and sent oil prices soaring. In an interview on Bloomberg Television on Monday, Stubb called for a ceasefire between Iran, US and Israel and wondered if Europeans or India could aid that.
"We saw foreign minister Jaishankar calling for ceasefire and negotiations just to calm down the temperature and freeze the situation...," Stubb said in the interview, highlighting how the three-cornered conflict, among the US, Israel and Iran makes things complicated.
Stubb also urged NATO allies to heed to US President Donald Trump's call on the Strait of Hormuz and said that nations willing to help will do so. On Sunday, Trump insisted that allies in in NATO and Asia should help ensure oil and gas shipments move through the key waterway.
Jaishankar's talks with Iran
Alexander Stubb, who was recently in India for a state visit, made these remarks amid a raging Iran-US conflict that has spilt over to other Gulf nations as well. What has further sparked concerns is the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes and that is a key waterway for several countries, including India.
Stubb was referring to external affairs minister (EAM) S Jaishankar's recent talks with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi after which some Indian-flagged ships were allowed passage through the key strait in the Persian Gulf.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Jaishankar recently clarified that Iran got nothing in exchange of letting the ships pass and that India and Iran have always shared a relationship. "And this is a conflict that we regard as something very unfortunate," he added.
India can help US secure Hormuz?
The Finnish PM isn't the first to suggest that Indian intervention could ease the Iran-US conflict. On Sunday, US energy secretary Chris Wright hinted that India might be able to help the US to secure the Strait of Hormuz, the key oil passage where US President Donald Trump wants the country's allies to send their warships to ensure it functions normally.
Asked if he could give specific names of countries that would help secure the Strait of Hormuz, Wright refused to make any formal announcements but also mentioned India in his reply. “The world depends on the flows through Hormuz, and most importantly, the Asian nations — Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, India — a meaningful part of their total energy supply comes from the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Notably, even as ships from several countries remain stranded at the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has said that the passage is only closed to the US and Israeli vessels.
