Iranian, Saudi Officials Hold Diplomatic Talks in India

(MENAFN) As tensions escalate between India and Pakistan following India's "Operation Sindoor," high-ranking officials from both Iran and Saudi Arabia are in India for diplomatic talks.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar recently met with Saudi Arabian State Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in New Delhi. Following their meeting, Jaishankar conveyed on X that they “shared India’s perspectives on firmly countering terrorism,” The Saudi minister's visit had not been previously announced publicly.

Concurrently, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi arrived in the Indian capital for a session of the India-Iran Joint Commission. Notably, Araghchi's trip to India follows a visit to Pakistan earlier in the week.

The heightened tensions between India and Pakistan erupted after India announced “Operation Sindoor” late Tuesday, asserting that it targeted “terrorist infrastructure" at nine locations within Pakistan. Indian officials defended their actions, stating that New Delhi exercised its “right to respond and pre-empt as well as deter more such cross-border attacks.”

In response, the Pakistani military reported that 31 individuals were killed in the Indian missile strikes and cross-border firing in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

According to Indian sources, cross-border firing along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border dividing the contested Himalayan region, resulted in the deaths of 13 civilians and one Indian soldier in Indian-administered Kashmir.

These recent escalations between the nuclear-armed neighbors follow an attack on April 22 in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, where 26 people lost their lives. India attributed the attack to Pakistan, alleging cross-border connections, a claim Pakistan has denied, advocating for an impartial investigation.

Pakistan claimed to have downed five Indian aircraft and pledged retaliation, though New Delhi has not issued an official response to this claim.

Furthermore, Pakistani military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry stated on Thursday that their forces had neutralized 25 Harop drones launched by India overnight, labeling it a "serious provocation." He reported one civilian fatality and injuries to four Pakistani soldiers in the drone attacks.

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