**EDS: SCREENSHOT VIA PTI VIDEOS** New Delhi: MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal addresses a press conference, in Delhi, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (PTI Photo) (PTI04_17_2025_000253B)
New Delhi, Oct 28: Twenty-two Indian nationals, including 14 seafarers, have been killed in the ongoing West Asia conflict, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday, expressing concern over the escalating violence in the region.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal as per Kashmir Convener said the government was in close contact with the Indian community across the Gulf region to monitor their safety and well-being.
“We are deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict in West Asia. We have lost 22 Indian nationals in the conflict, including 14 seafarers,” Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.
“Three Indians have lost their lives in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
India has called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict, which began in February with attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel.
The escalating tensions have also raised concerns over the security of critical energy infrastructure and key maritime routes in the region.
India has expressed serious concern over attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s civilian infrastructure and economic assets, warning that such strikes undermine regional stability and threaten freedom of navigation through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
The Iran-backed Houthi group has targeted Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, a key route for transporting crude oil across the kingdom. The pipeline has assumed greater significance amid disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict involving Iran.
The attacks have also heightened concerns over maritime security in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean region.
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