Iran-U.S. MoU has had a positive impact on energy, fertiliser flow to India: MEA

The signing of a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States on June 17 has had a positive impact on the flow of energy and fertilizers to India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday (June 23, 2026).

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Addressing a press briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that there has been two-way traffic of India-specific vessels through the Strait of Hormuz at least since June 17, while officials indicated that a permanent pause in hostilities is essential to normalise maritime traffic through the crucial waterway that faced Iran- and U.S.-imposed chokehold for nearly three and half months.

“Since the signing of the MoU on June 17, eleven India-bound vessels have transited through the Strait of Hormuz. The vessels include three Indian-flagged crude oil tankers, each carrying over 285,000 MT [metric tonnes] crude oil; one foreign-flagged LPG carrier, one foreign-flagged crude oil tanker and six foreign-flagged bulk carriers, carrying fertilizer cargo,” said Mr. Jaiswal, indicating that the shipping situation has been positive of the past few days.

“As of today, we have 10 Indian-flagged vessels which are still in the Persian Gulf region. In addition, two have recently arrived there,” said Mr. Jaiswal, further indicating that the 10 ships that remain in the gulf are part of the international collection of vessels that are stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war erupted between U.S.-Israel and Iran.

“We hope that the remaining Indian-flagged vessels would also be able to cross the Hormuz soon,” added Mr. Jaiswal, explaining that the arrival of fertilizer, crude oil, and LPG tankers indicated that the maritime flow had been helped by the U.S.-Iran MoU. Safety of Indian ships and sailors have been among the top priorities of the Government of India as conflict raged in the Gulf since February 28.