India welcomes US-Iran peace deal, offers support for next steps in West Asia

Paris,UPDATED: Jun 18, 2026 22:16 IST

India on Thursday welcomed the peace understanding between the US and Iran and said it hopes the deal will lead to sustained peace and stability in West Asia. New Delhi said it remains in close touch with countries involved in or affected by the conflict and is ready to help with the "next steps" in any way it can.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a media briefing that India has consistently backed dialogue and diplomacy to resolve such conflicts. He said the situation in West Asia figured prominently in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's engagements at the G7 outreach meetings and in his bilateral talks with several world leaders, where Modi conveyed India's desire for lasting peace and security in the region.

Misri said US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had signed a peace Memorandum of Understanding that provides for an immediate halt to all military operations, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports. "India welcomed the developments that have taken place through the understanding that has been reached between the US and Iran and hopes to see a rapid return to peace and stability in the region," he said.

He said India had been in close touch with "most of the protagonists who are involved or affected by the conflict". "We remain in very close touch with all of those partners, and we'll be ready to do whatever it is, whatever it is possible for us to do, in so far as addressing the next steps," he said. Misri added, "India has always advocated the path of dialogue and diplomacy to settle conflicts such as these. We have always also expressed our readiness to contribute in any manner that we can," and said India has "very strong relationships with all of the countries in the region".

Misri also said India had consistently stressed the need to maintain freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce through international waterways in the region. He said Modi specifically underlined the safety and security of seafarers. "He noted how hundreds of thousands of Indian seafarers essentially provide a global public good by serving on maritime platforms that serve the global community and serve global maritime trade in a big way, and why therefore their safety and security should be a common concern of the global community," Misri said. He added that Modi raised the issue both in his intervention at the G7 outreach meetings and in bilateral meetings with several leaders.

India said the US-Iran understanding was a positive development and reiterated that it would stay engaged with partners in West Asia while continuing to back dialogue, diplomacy, safe navigation and regional stability.

With PTI Inputs

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