By Michael Martina and Saurabh Sharma
NEW DELHI, May 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Saturday, as the two sides discussed the Middle East, trade, visas, maritime security and energy supplies, while Washington cited progress on efforts to resolve the Iran conflict.
Rubio said progress had been made in the past 48 hours on an outline that could help resolve the situation around the Strait of Hormuz and added there was
a possibility of "good news" in the next few hours.
He reiterated that Iran could never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and said attacks on commercial vessels were "totally illegal".
The discussions come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and concerns over shipping lanes and energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of global oil shipments passes.
Jaishankar said India and the United States had common interests and shared challenges, and that India supported safe maritime passage.
He said the two sides also discussed efforts to conclude a bilateral trade deal at an early date and visa-related challenges faced by Indian workers.
Successive U.S. administrations, including under President Donald Trump's first term, have sought to draw historically non-aligned India closer as a counterweight to rising Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific, though ties were strained after Washington imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods last year.
More recently, New Delhi has closely watched U.S. efforts to stabilise relations with China and improve engagement with Pakistan, amid concerns in India over Washington's regional priorities.
Rubio described India as an important strategic partner and said the two countries were aligned on terrorism and energy. He also said India was among the countries with global influence.
Highlighting the breadth of ties between New Delhi and Washington, Rubio said the range of issues discussed underscored that India was "an important strategic partner of the United States, one of our most important strategic partners in the world."
Jaishankar said the United States had emerged as a reliable energy source for India.
India and the United States have expanded cooperation in recent years across defence, technology and trade, even as New Delhi maintains ties with countries including Iran and Russia as part of its longstanding policy of strategic autonomy.
Rubio discussed trade and energy with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. Rubio also extended an invitation on behalf of U.S. President Donald Trump for Modi to visit the White House in the near future.
"Yesterday during the secretary's call on the Prime Minister, some global and regional issues were discussed, and in our subsequent meeting at the embassy, we took up developments pertaining to West Asia," Jaishankar said.
(Reporting by Michael Martina Saurabh Sharma; writing by Mayank Bhardwaj;Editing by Bernadette Baum and Kim Coghill)
