US threatens to hit Iran’s civil infra
NEW DELHI, Mar 30: Amid the escalating West Asia conflict, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday said eight Indian nationals have lost their lives while one remains missing in “various incidents” in the region.
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At an inter-ministerial briefing here on the West Asia situation, Additional Secretary (Gulf), MEA, Aseem R Mahajan, also said, “Yesterday, an Indian national unfortunately lost his life in an attack in Kuwait.”
However, he did not elaborate upon the circumstances of this death.
“We express our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. Our Mission in Kuwait is in touch with the family of the deceased and is coordinating closely with the local authorities to render all support and for early return of his mortal remains to India,” he said.
On March 20, at an inter-ministerial briefing on the West Asia situation, Mahajan had told reporters that six Indian nationals had lost their lives while one remained missing in “various incidents”.
On Monday, he shared an update, saying, “eight Indian nationals have unfortunately lost their lives and one Indian national remains missing in various incidents”.
The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia recently said that an Indian national was killed in Riyadh due to the “recent events of March 18”.
The Ministry also shared that since February 28, around 5.5 lakh passengers have returned from the region to India.
The MEA on Monday reiterated that it continues to closely monitor the evolving situation in the Gulf and West Asia region.
“We continue to call for restraint and de-escalation, and at the same time emphasise on dialogue and diplomacy, as a means to an early end to the conflict,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened widespread destruction of Iran’s energy resources and other vital infrastructure, including desalination plants, if a deal to end the war is not reached “shortly.”
Tehran meanwhile struck a key water and electrical plant in Kuwait, and an oil refinery in Israel came under attack. Israel and the US launched a new wave of strikes on Iran, as the war raged with no end in sight.
Trump’s new threat in a social media post and earlier comments in an interview with the Financial Times that suggested American troops could seize Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub highlighted a frequent tactic. He has repeatedly claimed to be making diplomatic progress- though Tehran denies negotiating directly – while ramping up his threats and sending thousands more US troops to the Middle East.
It remains unclear where the diplomatic effort facilitated by Pakistan stands. Iran’s continuing attacks on its Gulf neighbours could further complicate any talks. The United Arab Emirates – which has long billed itself as a beacon of stability in a volatile region – has been hard hit in the war, and is signalling it wants Iran disarmed in any ceasefire. Iran’s theocracy likely won’t accept that.
In a social media post, Trump said “great progress is being made” in talks with Iran to end military operations. But he bristled that if a deal is not reached “shortly,” and if the Strait of Hormuz is not immediately reopened, the US would broaden its offensive by “completely obliterating” power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island and possibly even desalination plants that supply drinking water.
The Strait is a crucial waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped in peacetime.
The laws of armed conflict allow attacks on civilian infrastructure such as energy plants only if the military advantage outweighs the civilian harm, legal scholars say. It’s considered a high bar to clear, and causing excessive suffering to civilians can constitute a war crime.
In the FT interview, Trump said his preference would be to “take the oil in Iran” – a move that would require seizing Kharg Island, the terminal through which nearly all of Iran’s oil exports pass.
“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t,” he said.
The US already has targeted military positions on Kharg once. Iran has threatened to launch its own ground invasion of Gulf Arab countries and mine the Persian Gulf if US troops set foot on its territory.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Monday acknowledged Tehran had received a 15-point proposal from the Trump administration, but said there had been no direct negotiations with Washington. He said the US demands were “excessive, unrealistic and irrational.” (Agencies)
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