Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called the Houthi strike on Saudi Arabia’s East‑West oil pipeline an attack on civilian infrastructure that threatens regional security.
The Iran‑backed Houthis' assault severed a critical bypass route that Saudi Arabia uses to route crude around the Gulf of Aden, heightening existing tensions in the Red Sea.
Jaiswal noted that 14 Indian nationals were on a Panama‑flagged ship near Oman; 13 have been rescued by Omani authorities, while one remains missing.
S. Jaishankar met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to discuss the incident, stressing the urgency of de‑escalation.
Delhi warns that continued strikes on commercial shipping would jeopardise freedom of navigation through Bab‑el‑Mandeb, a strategic choke point linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
The search for the missing Indian national continues, and India plans to press for swift diplomatic resolution before the week’s end.