New Delhi: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar spoke with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday (March 10) evening about the security of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran holding the United States responsible for disruptions to vessel traffic in the Persian Gulf,“A detailed conversation this evening with Foreign Minister @araghchi of Iran on the latest developments regarding the ongoing conflict. We agreed to remain in touch,” Jaishankar wrote on X late Tuesday night, without giving any details.According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry readout, the two ministers also discussed the implications of the conflict for shipping and vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which was described as the “consequences of the US and Israeli regime’s military aggression”.The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for India’s energy supply. Roughly a fifth of global oil trade passes through the narrow waterway, and India sources the bulk of its crude oil from Gulf producers such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, all of which route shipments through the strait.Blaming Washington, the Iranian statement noted that Araghchi told Jaishankar that the “the insecure situation and problems arising for shipping in the Persian Gulf are a result of the aggressive and destabilizing actions of the United States, and the international community must hold the US accountable for this situation”.At the same, he said that Iran had a “principled approach to safeguarding shipping security in the Persian Gulf”.During the conversation, Araghchi detailed what Tehran described as the actions of the United States and Israel against Iran during the past 11 days. He referred to what he called “the crimes committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Iranian nation”, citing attacks on civilian sites, including a missile strike on a girls’ elementary school in Minab.Araghchi described the US and Israeli actions as “a violation of the fundamental principles and rules of the United Nations Charter and international law”. He said foreign governments had a responsibility to condemn what he called “this military aggression and blatant law-breaking”.India, so far, has not condemned US and Israeli strikes on Iran, or raised any concern about violation of international law and UN charter.The call marks the third conversation between Jaishankar and Araghchi since hostilities escalated following the February 28 strikes on Iran by United States and Israel. The two had earlier spoken on February 28 and again on March 5.Less than an hour before Jaishankar’s post, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei wrote on X that Iran “honors the fallen sailors of the #Dena frigate, martyred on 4 March far from their homeland”.Baqaei said the vessel had been “officially invited by the Indian Navy to participate in a joint naval exercise and a port visit”, referring to the multinational naval activities hosted by India in the Bay of Bengal in February.He said the United States had attacked the vessel “near the coasts of India and Sri Lanka” and described the strike as “a brutal act amounting to a war crime”.In a claim that had not featured in earlier Iranian statements about the incident, Baqaei also alleged that US forces had “deliberately obstructed rescue operations for the sailors” after the attack.The spokesperson said the incident constituted aggression under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314 and amounted to violations of maritime humanitarian law, citing Geneva Convention II and Additional Protocol I.In a post on X shortly after the March 4 sinking of the Iranian ship, Araghchi said the Dena had been “a guest of India’s Navy” when it was struck in international waters while carrying nearly 130 sailors.The latest phone call come a day after Jaishankar told parliament that Iran had requested permission on February 28 for three of its naval vessels in the region to dock at Indian ports. India granted clearance the following day.One of those ships, IRINS Lavan, subsequently docked in Kochi, where its crew has been accommodated at naval facilities.In his parliamentary statement, Jaishankar did not refer directly to the sinking of the Dena or to US involvement in the incident.Four days after Iran announced the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri went to the Iranian embassy to sign the condolence register on behalf of the Indian government.The move followed trenchant criticism from opposition leaders and analysts who said India’s foreign policy appeared unbalanced. They pointed out that India hasn’t yet condemned the attacks by United States and Israel, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken to several Arab leaders during the crisis and condemned attacks by Iran on their territories as the violence widened across the region.Modi had visited Israel two days before Tel Aviv began strikes on Iran. It was also coupled by the silence of several days before condolences were offered following Khamenei’s death.So far, India has not made any statement on the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as successor.