US VP Vance called PM Modi, told him of 'possible off-ramp' after receiving 'alarming intel': CNN

NEW DELHI: The US urged PM Modi to engage in talks to stop the fighting with Pakistan after it received " alarming intelligence ", CNN said late Saturday, quoting Trump administration officials.

The American broadcaster said it had been told that it was vice-president JD Vance who finally called Modi "at noon Eastern time on Friday" to urge him to get India to talk directly to Pakistan "to consider options available for de-escalation". According to CNN, the officials said Vance first took the intelligence to Trump and then called Modi to tell him that the US believed that if hostilities continued over the weekend there was "a high probability of a dramatic escalation".

CNN said that Vance also told Modi of a "potential off-ramp that the US understood the Pakistanis would be amenable to". They did not describe this "potential off-ramp".

Trump officials told CNN that a core of three top administration members - Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio who is also interim NSA, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles - had been keeping an eye on the India-Pakistan situation when the US govt received intel that persuaded them to raise their involvement to bring about a cessation of kinetic hostilities.

The officials declined to detail the intelligence they had received, citing its sensitive nature, but said it played a "critical" role in persuading the Trump administration, CNN said.