India must ask U.S. why it is targeting Iranian ships in Indian Ocean: Iran Minister Khatibzadeh

India must ask the United States why it is targeting Iranian ships in the Indian Ocean, said Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh on Friday (March 6, 2026). He said Iran is a “responsible power” and has not closed the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr. Khatibzadeh, who spoke at the External Affairs Ministry’s marquee event ‘Raisina Dialogue’, said diplomacy will be the “only option” that will resolve the war. “Iran is not stopping Indian ships in the Strait , but India must ask the U.S. why it is targeting Iranian ships in the Indian Ocean. They are the threat, they should be asked,” he said in response to a question from The Hindu on the drowning of IRIS DENA by a U.S. submarine near the Sri Lankan coast on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) .

Mr. Khatibzadeh, who is the first Iranian dignitary to visit India since the beginning of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, said the attack on his country is “based on a lie that Iran posed a threat”. He said that the war is based on a “delusion of establishing Greater Israel” in West Asia.

The Iranian Minister had a brief meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his deputy Kirti Vardhan Singh on the sidelines of the event. Mr. Jaishankar later shared a photograph of this meeting on his social media accounts.

Mr. Khatibzadeh described Iran as an “anchor of stability in the Strait of Hormuz” and said, “We have not closed the Strait of Hormuz. We are a responsible power.” He did not rule out dialogue to resolve the hostility adding, “Diplomacy down the road is the only option.”

Hours after Mr. Khatibzadeh’s meeting with the External Affairs Minister, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement summing up Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi’s telephone conversation with Mr. Jaishankar on Thursday (March 5, 2026) and his Friday (March 6, 2026) phone call with his Sri Lankan counterpart Vijitha Herath, who too is in Delhi for the Raisina Dialogue.

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The statement mentioned that Mr. Araghchi conveyed “appreciation for Sri Lanka’s efforts in the rescue operation for the sailors of the frigate Dena”. He called upon “all governments and the United Nations to firmly condemn the criminal actions of the United States and the Israeli regime.”

Mr. Jaishankar met with Mr. Herath on the sidelines of the event.

Iranian ship docked at Kochi

Days before the sinking of IRIS DENA by the U.S. submarine, Iran had approached India to let an Iranian ship dock in Kochi, sources in the government said.

Iran had requested to “take in the Iranian ship IRIS LAVAN which was in India’s territorial waters for the International Fleet Review in Vishakhapatnam”, the source said.

IRIS LAVAN has been docked at Kochi since March 4 as the vessel had developed technical issues. “Its crew of 183 are currently accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi,” the source said.

Condolence messages

On Friday (March 6, 2026), general public and political leaders thronged the Iranian embassy and signed condolence books that have been opened for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was assassinated in the opening salvo of the U.S.-Israel war. Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid was among those who visited the embassy to sign the condolence books.