New Delhi, March 9 -- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that the Iranian leadership thanked India for letting them dock IRIS LAVAN at Kochi amid the conflict in West Asia.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, S Jaishankar said, "Contacts with Iran at the leadership level are obviously difficult at this time... The Iranian side requested permission on February 28 for three ships in the region to dock at our ports. This was accorded on March 1. IRIS LAVAN actually docked on March 4 in Kochi. The crew is currently in Indian naval facilities. We believe that this was the right thing to do, and the Iranian Foreign Minister has expressed his country's thanks for this humane gesture."

This came after IRIS Dena, an Iranian warship at E...