India distances itself from Gaurav Arya’s remarks against Iranian Foreign Minister
New Delhi: India on Saturday distanced itself from remarks made by former army officer and television personality Gaurav Arya against Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, after the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi objected to Arya's comments.
Arya, in a video shared online, criticised Araghchi for choosing to visit Pakistan before coming to India amid heightened tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. His remarks sparked a diplomatic reaction from Iran, with its embassy in India responding strongly.
“Respect for guests has a long-standing tradition in Iranian culture,” the Iranian Embassy stated on X (formerly Twitter), while sharing the video. “We Iranians consider our guests to be beloved by God. How about you?”
Following the diplomatic protest, the Indian Embassy in Tehran issued a clarification stating that Arya is a private individual and his views do not reflect the official stance of the Indian government.
“The individual in the video is a private Indian citizen. His statements have no connection with the official position of India,” the embassy stated. “The Government of India considers the disrespectful tone used in the video to be inappropriate.”
The Iranian foreign minister had paid an unscheduled visit to Pakistan on May 5 to hold talks with its top leadership amid increasing tensions with India. He later returned to Tehran before heading to New Delhi to co-chair a bilateral Joint Commission meeting, his first visit to India since becoming Iran’s foreign minister in August 2024.
Last month, Araghchi had also offered to mediate between India and Pakistan to “forge greater understanding” following a series of cross-border incidents.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
