India cosponsors UN resolution condemning Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries

Russia and China abstained from voting for the Security Council resolution denouncing Tehran for closing the Strait of Hormuz

India has cosponsored a resolution in the UN Security Council (UNSC) that condemns Iran’s recent attacks on Arab countries.

The UNSC, which is currently being presided over by the US, passed the resolution by a vote of 13-0, with Russia and China being the only members abstaining.

The Bahrain-led resolution was cosponsored by 135 countries, including the US, UK, Spain, Canada, Germany, and many Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, and the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The resolution deplored “the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects by the Islamic Republic of Iran, including airports, energy installations, objects necessary for food production and distribution, and critical civilian infrastructure, as well as the indiscriminate use of weapons in populated areas and their consequences for the civilian population, as well as attacks and threats on merchant and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Indian civilians have been among the casualties of the US-Israel war against Iran.

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“We have lost two Indian mariners in merchant shipping, and one remains missing,” Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told parliament on Monday.

Several Indian ships are stranded in the waters of the Middle East as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. The PTI news agency said 37 Indian-flagged ships carrying 1,109 seafarers are stuck in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and nearby waters.

Mayuree Naree, a Thai bulk carrier heading to India, was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the kingdom’s Navy said on Wednesday. The Omani Navy has saved 20 mariners from the vessel. 

“Precious lives, including of Indian citizens, have already been lost in multiple such attacks in the earlier phase of this conflict and the intensity and lethality of the attacks only seems to be increasing,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said on Wednesday.

“India reiterates that targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, should be avoided.”

READ MORE: Middle East conflict is of ‘particular concern’ to India – Jaishankar 

New Delhi has so far not condemned the US and Israel for the attack on a school that killed more than 160 girls or the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Jaishankar has held three conversations with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, since the war began.