New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi, who spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday to wish extend greetings on the occasion of Eid and Nowruz, condemned the attacks on critical infrastructure in the Gulf region.
Modi also stressed on the importance of “safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure.”
On his part, the Iranian President told Modi they did not start the war in West Asia and that a prerequisite for ending the conflict in the region is immediate cessation of aggressions by the US and Israel, along with guarantees against their recurrence in the future.
Pezeshkian also sought BRICS’ involvement.
“Referring to India’s rotating presidency of BRICS, Pezeshkian called for the group to play an independent role in halting aggressions against Iran and in safeguarding regional and international peace and stability,” Iran’s embassy in India posted on X.
Telephone Conversation between President Pezeshkian and the Prime Minister of India
Dr. Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, held a telephone conversation on Saturday, 21 March 2026, with Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, during which they discussed… pic.twitter.com/FFjzPnpe81
— Iran in India (@Iran_in_India) March 21, 2026
US claims to have hit 8,000 targets
Both sides have been adamant, and there is no end in sight to the war, which entered its fourth week.
On Saturday, the US said, via a video from US Central Command’s X account, they have struck over 8,000 Iranian military targets since the start of the war on February 28.
Iran, on the other hand, attacked Israel’s busiest Ben Guiron airport soon after the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran was targeted by Israel.
Iran’s Yasnim news reported that residents near the nuclear site were not at risk, and there were no radioactive leaks.
Iran also reportedly launched two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the US-UK military base in Diego Garcia, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing US officials. It’s being seen as a sign of Tehran’s potential expansion of its strikes beyond the Middle East.
The missiles didn’t hit the base, located around 4,000 km from Iran.