Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday that he spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and expressed “deep concern at the recent escalations” in its conflict with Israel. He also reiterated India’s call for immediate de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy between the two countries.

This was the first call between PM Modi and President Pezeshkian, hours after US President Donald Trump said that he had “obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites in overnight strikes. With this, the US has joined the Israeli military response in a major new escalation of the conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.

PM Modi said, in a post on X, “Spoke with President of Iran @drpezeshkian. We discussed in detail about the current situation. Expressed deep concern at the recent escalations. Reiterated our call for immediate de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward and for early restoration of regional peace, security and stability.”

This comes at a time when West Asia is witnessing tension between Israel and Iran and there are fears of an escalation into a full-fledged conflict between the two countries.

The US struck three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday night – Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow — as it joined Israel in its offensive against Iran.

Following the US strikes, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the attacks “will have everlasting consequences” and vowed that Tehran “reserves all options” for retaliation. “The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behaviour,” he wrote in his X post.

“In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defence, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people,” the post added. Later, he dismissed calls for Tehran to resume diplomatic talks with the US, stating that the overnight attacks blew up any chance of diplomacy.