Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrives in Iran

Singh arrived in Tehran from Moscow after closing his three-day visit to Russia where he went to a meeting of the Ministry of Defense of the Shanghai Cooperation (SCO). He also held respective talks with his counterparts from Russia, China and the nations of Central Asia.

“Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh arrived at Tehran today. He will meet the Iranian Minister of Defense (Brigadier General Amir Hatami) during his visit,” his office said in a tweet.

India said on Friday that it was “deeply concerned” about the circumstance in the Persian Gulf and called on the nations in the region to determine their differences through dialogue primarily based on mutual respect.

Raksha Mantri @rajnathsingh meets Chinese Defence Minister at latter’s request on the sidelines of SCO meeting in Moscow #IndiaChinaStandoffhttps://t.co/jxOCENrifY

— Sujan Chinoy (@SujanChinoy) September 5, 2020

“We approach nations in the area – which are all dear and friendly to India, to determine contrasts through dialogue based on shared regard, sovereignty and non-interference in internal issues of one another,” he said in his speech at the combined meeting of Ministers of Defense of the SCO, the Organization for Collective Security Treaty and the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Iran has taken steps to upset the shipment of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if the United States attempts to strangle its economy.

Iran has observer status in the SCO, which was set up during a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the leaders of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The aim of the SCO is to look after peace, stability and security in the region.

India and Pakistan were admitted in 2005 as observers for the gruoping. The two nations were admitted in 2017 as full members of the group.