19 April 2026
Iran’s top representative says India-Iran ties strong amid Hormuz firing incident
The representative of the Iranian Supreme Leader in India said bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic and New Delhi remain strong following the alleged firing on two Indian ships while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Relations between Iran and India are very strong and I don’t know anything about this incident that you mentioned and we hope it will be fine and resolved,” Abdul Majid Hakim Elahi told news agency ANI.
He called for peace in the US–Israeli war with Iran.
“We don’t want this war. We want peace and we hope that the other side will also abide by peace so that we can have a peaceful region,” Elahi said.
On Saturday, India expressed “deep concern” over the “incident of firing” by two Indian-flagged ships in the vital waterway.
The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi summoned Iran’s Ambassador Mohammad Fathali for a meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to register its protest over the incident.
A statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said Misri stressed that “India attaches importance to merchant shipping and the safety of seafarers”.
It said Misri reminded that Tehran had earlier facilitated the safe passage of several ships bound for India.
Monitoring site Tankertrackers.com said on Thursday that “two Indian ships were forced to turn westwards from the Strait of Hormuz by Iran’s Sepah (IRGC) Navy”.
It said one of the vessels was “an Indian-flagged VLCC supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil.”
The two vessels were reportedly among several trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran declared it open to shipping on Friday.
However, a day later Iran announced it had reimposed its blockade of the waterway.