New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a phone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday, renewing his call for urgent de-escalation and a return to diplomacy amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
“Spoke with President of Iran @drpezeshkian. We discussed in detail about the current situation. Expressed deep concern at the recent escalations. Reiterated our call for immediate de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward and for early restoration of regional peace, security and stability,” PM Modi said in a post on X.
His remarks came shortly after the United States launched airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—prompting sharp reactions worldwide. Iran denounced the strikes as “brutal military aggression” and a grave breach of international law and the UN Charter.
In response to the attacks, Tehran called on the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to intervene, urging swift action from global institutions to safeguard regional stability.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strongly worded statement on Sunday, condemning the U.S. military strikes on its nuclear facilities as a “brutal military aggression” and a serious violation of international law and the UN Charter. The ministry held the U.S. government responsible for the “extremely dangerous” consequences of the attack.
The situation followed a dramatic escalation earlier in the day when the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) announced that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) had begun a series of airstrikes targeting military installations in western Iran. According to the IDF, the strikes targeted missile launchers, Iranian soldiers, and military assets positioned to fire on Israeli territory.
In a statement posted on X, the IDF said, “The IAF has begun a series of strikes towards military targets in western Iran,” adding that it had “swiftly neutralised the launchers that launched missiles toward Israeli territory a short while ago.”
The attacks came after Iran reportedly launched over 30 ballistic missiles at Israel on Sunday, escalating tensions further. While Israeli officials framed their military action as a pre-emptive effort to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Tehran has consistently denied such ambitions.
(inputs from IANS)