External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal addresses a press conference on Inter-Ministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in West Asia, in New Delhi on March 23, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
India is closely monitoring developments, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Monday (March 23, 2026) shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would postpone attacks on Iran’s power infrastructure for five days.
Another senior official termed the move “positive”, while emphasising that the government was keeping an eye on the developments.
Also Read: U.S.-Israel war on Iran updates
Earlier, Mr. Trump said he would hold off all military attacks on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for the next five days following “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of [our] hostilities in the West Asia”.
The announcement led to oil prices falling below the $100 per barrel mark. At the time of writing, benchmark brent crude futures (May) were trading about 12.5% lower than their previous close at $98.18 per barrel. This was after it recovered from dipping to an intra-day low of $97.11 per barrel.
India continues outreach to GCC countries
On Monday (March 23) evening, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held talks with the Ambassadors of the GCC countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. He said they exchanged views on the conflict in West Asia and he “thanked them for their continued support to the Indian community in the region”. He also spoke over the telephone to Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath about developments in the war.
Published – March 23, 2026 10:34 pm IST
