Iran's Javad Zarif meets PM Modi in New Delhi

Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif here on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue 2020 which is currently going on in the national capital.

Earlier in the day, Zarif met National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval here on Wednesday.

During his address at the conclave, Zarif targetted the US over its air raid which killed Iran general Qassem Soleim in Iraq earlier this month.

He said that US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and the Islamic State (ISIS) are "celebrating" the death of Soleim.

"The US looks at things from their perspective, not from the perspective of this region. The killing of Qassem Soleim shows ignorance and arrogance. 430 Indian cities saw protests against the killing of Soleim," he said.

Zarif said that Soleim was the "single most effective force" against the ISIS and hence, the US is celebrating as they "did not like" Soleim.

Talking about Iran's airstrikes at two military bases in Iraq, Zarif maintained that Tehran retaliated in "self-defence" and rebuffed Washington's claims that Soleim was planning to attack US embassies.

Soleim, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump at Baghdad International Airport on January 3. Days later, Tehran retaliated by firing a barrage of missiles at two US military bases in Iraq.

Soleim's death has marked a dramatic escalation in tension between the US and Iran, that has often been at a fever pitch since Trump, in 2018, chose to unilaterally withdraw Washington from the 2015 nuclear pact the world powers had struck with Tehran.

Countries including the UK and India have urged Iran to pursue urgent de-escalation.

( With inputs from ANI )