India holding talks, taking other measures with Iran over Houthis' Red Sea attacks

India is engaged in diplomatic discussions with Iran and implementing measures to safeguard its exporters from disruptions caused by attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen.

These attacks have led to a slowdown in trade between Asia and Europe, causing disruptions to supply chains. The Houthi group has stated that their actions are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and has threatened to expand the attacks to include U.S. ships amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held talks in Iran on Monday which he said had touched on the Red Sea situation.

“The defence ministry has improved surveillance (in the region) and the ministry of external affairs is diplomatically negotiating this very well,” said the government source, who requested anonymity.

Military strikes by the U.S. and Britain against Houthi targets in Yemen have failed to stop weeks of drone, rocket and missile strikes by Houthi forces on commercial shipping transiting the Red Sea route, which borders Yemen.

The Houthis are one in a network of Iran- and Hamas-allied militant groups around the Middle East that have escalated attacks on Israel, the U.S. and others since Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.

The Houthis were originally a clan-based rebel movement. They seized Yemen’s capital in 2014 and withstood a subsequent yearslong invasion led by Saudi Arabia aimed at driving the Houthis from power. Two-thirds of Yemen’s people live in territory now controlled by the Houthis.

The finance ministry’s banking division will also make it easier for exporters affected by the disruption to get credit, he added.

“The idea is to ensure credit flow to exporters is maintained as cargoes are getting delayed and transit is costing more,” the source said. The foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The Red Sea, which leads to the Suez Canal, lies on the key east-west trade route from Asia’s manufacturing hubs to Europe and onto the east coast of the Americas. About 12% of the world’s shipping traffic accesses the Suez Canal via its waters.

India’s defence ministry is providing protective escorts to Indian container ships in the region and the Indian Navy has responded to at least two attacks and hijacking attempts on merchant vessels in the Arabian Sea.

The government source said trade volumes from major ports had not been affected so far, but ships were having to take longer routes to avoid the attacks.

With inputs from agencies.