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India has prioritised the information of “all civilians”, said the authorities successful an effort to deflect disapproval that it has lone condemned Iran’s actions, and not those by the United States and Israel successful the ongoing warfare successful West Asia.
On Wednesday (March 11, 2026), India co-sponsored a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) solution astatine the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on with 134 countries that demanded the “immediate cessation of each attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran” against GCC countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. The solution was passed with 13 UNSC members voting successful favour portion Russia and China abstained. It besides condemned “any actions oregon threats by the Islamic Republic of Iran aimed astatine closing, obstructing, oregon different interfering with planetary navigation done the Strait of Hormuz”.
“The solution reflects respective of our positions,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal astatine a play property briefing connected Thursday [March 12, 2026]. “We person a ample diaspora successful the GCC countries, and their well-being and payment are of utmost importance. The Gulf is besides precise important for our vigor information needs,” Mr. Jaiswal added, successful references to astir 10 cardinal Indians who unrecorded and enactment successful West Asia, and India’s vigor purchases from the portion that marque up about 50% of its crude lipid and 90% of its liquefied petroleum state (LPG) imports. In contrast, determination are astir 9,000 Indians successful Iran and India has discontinued its vigor imports from Iran since 2019, nether menace of U.S. sanctions.
The Indian enactment for the UNSC solution comes connected the heels of a fig of statements by the Ministry condemning circumstantial Iranian actions specified arsenic the attacks connected assorted countries crossed the West Asian region, buildings successful Dubai, Omani facilities and a Thai vessel bound for India.
Iran-Israel warfare updates connected March 12, 2026
However, India has not likewise condemned the attacks by the U.S. and Israel connected Iran, successful which an estimated 1,255 radical person been killed, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his household and advisors; the sinking of Iranian vessel IRIS Dena successful the Indian Ocean that had been hosted for exercises by India; oregon the bombing of a schoolhouse successful Mubin successful which 150 schoolgirls are believed to person been killed. Nor has India oregon the GCC-led solution spoken astir Israel’s strikes connected Lebanon, wherever the authorities said much than 630 radical person been killed, and 800,000 displaced from their homes.
In effect to a question from The Hindu astir the seemingly unbalanced responses, Mr. Jaiswal said that the MEA had issued statements, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had made suo motu statements successful some Houses of Parliament that regretted the nonaccomplishment of lives.
“As acold arsenic the question of the schoolchildren is concerned… we person issued respective statements connected the ongoing conflict. We person underlined the request for prioritising the information of each civilians. We regret the precious lives lost, and explicit our grief successful that regard,” Mr. Jaiswal said.
In the past fewer days, India’s “silence” connected U.S. and Israeli actions has travel successful for disapproval from a fig of elder erstwhile diplomats speaking to the media and astatine assorted nationalist events. “Diplomacy should recognise complexity, not trim it to a azygous culprit,” former Indian Foreign Secretary and erstwhile Ambassador to the U.S. Nirupama Menon Rao said connected Thursday (March 12, 2026) successful a station referring to the MEA statement, suggesting that India’s sponsorship of the UN resolution would “endorse a communicative that begins the communicative with Iranian retaliation alternatively than the escalation that preceded it”.
In an interrogation to quality bureau ANI, erstwhile Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said India should person issued a connection condoling the decease of Ayatollah Khamenei “to recognise that the caput of authorities contrary to norms of planetary instrumentality has been politically assassinated”. In an interrogation to The Wire, erstwhile National Security Advisor and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon called India’s “silence and actions” inexplicable and said it would “diminish [India’s] estimation and representation successful the satellite and it besides diminishes [India’s] effectiveness successful the world”.
