Rajnath Singh reviews West Asia situation with top defence officials amid rising tensions
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the evolving situation in West Asia, amid escalating regional tensions.
The meeting, held in New Delhi, lasted around one and a half hours and was attended by senior defence officials, including the Chief of Defence Staff and the three Service Chiefs. Discussions focused on assessing India’s security preparedness and response measures in light of the ongoing conflict.
Officials briefed the minister on the current security environment and operational readiness, as concerns grow over potential spillovers from the crisis.
PM Modi to address in the Rajya Sabha
The review comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled address in the Rajya Sabha on the West Asia situation.
On Monday, Modi had highlighted India’s efforts to diversify its energy import basket, noting that the number of sourcing countries has increased from 27 to 41 over the past 11 years. Addressing the Lok Sabha, he also flagged concerns over disruptions linked to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
“The situation in West Asia is worrisome. Our focus is on minimising inconvenience to households and ensuring energy security,” the Prime Minister said. He added that the government is taking steps to ensure uninterrupted supply of petrol and diesel, while ramping up domestic LPG production amid uncertain global supply conditions.
Global markets remain volatile
Meanwhile, global markets remained volatile amid conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf denied reports of ongoing negotiations with the United States, calling them “fake news” aimed at influencing financial and oil markets.
The statement came in response to claims by Donald Trump that the US and Iran had held “very good and productive conversations” in recent days regarding a possible resolution to the conflict.