EAM S Jaishankar Likely to Attend Swearing-in Ceremony of Newly-Elected Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi

New Delhi, August 2: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is likely to represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on August 5, people familiar with the development said on Monday.

Raisi, a hardliner and known to be close to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, won the presidential election in June by a landslide. India has already accepted an invitation by Iran for the event, which is likely to be attended by leaders and representatives of a number of countries.

Last month, the external affairs minister called on President-elect Raisi during a stopover at the Iranian capital on his way to Russia. Jaishankar also held extensive talks with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Tehran covering a range of key issues including the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan. His visit to Iran coincided with Iran’s hosting of an intra-Afghan dialogue in the country.

“External Affairs Minister Jaishankar is scheduled to pay a brief visit to Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Raisi,” said one of the persons cited above. Iran has been a key country for India in the Gulf region.

The two sides have been jointly focusing on improving connectivity between South East Asia and Central Asia. At a connectivity conference in Tashkent last month, Jaishankar projected Iran’s Chabahar Port as a key regional transit hub. Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran’s southern coast, the Chabahar port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost connectivity and trade ties.