Vance called Modi to encourage ceasefire talks after receiving 'alarming intelligence:' CNN

US Vice President JD Vance called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after receiving "alarming intelligence" on Friday (9 May) that necessitated increased US involvement in the escalating India-Pakistan conflict, reports CNN, quoting Trump administration officials.

It said a core group of top US officials, including Vance, Secretary of State and Interim National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, had been closely monitoring the escalating conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours when they received the intel. 

While the sources declined to describe the nature of the information, citing its sensitivity, they said Vance called Modi after briefing US President Donald Trump on the plan.

He made it clear to the Indian PM that the White House believed there was a high probability for dramatic escalation as the conflict went into the weekend, the administration officials said.

Vance encouraged Modi to have his country communicate with Pakistan directly and to consider options for de-escalation, the officials said.

The behind-the-scenes details of the US involvement have not previously been reported.

At that point, the officials said, the US believed the nuclear-armed neighbours were not talking, and it needed to get them back to the bargaining table.

Vance also outlined to Modi a potential off-ramp that the US understood the Pakistanis would be amenable to, the officials said, though they did not offer details.

Following the call, State Department officials, including Rubio, began working the phones with their counterparts in India and Pakistan through the night, the sources told CNN.

Rubio had been calling people in the region since Tuesday (6 May) with a general idea of how to reach a ceasefire, but the administration left the finer details of the agreement for India and Pakistan to work out directly.

"There was a lot of effort going on to try and tamp down escalation earlier in the week, and it was clear at that point that the two sides weren't talking," one of the officials familiar with Rubio's calls to his counterparts told CNN.

"The goal earlier this week was to encourage India and Pakistan to talk with our counterparts and figure out a path to de-escalation through a ceasefire, and through the course of those conversations, US officials were able to gain insights into what those potential off-ramps look like for both sides, and be able to help relay that message and bridge some of that communications divide, which then allowed the two sides to actually talk and get to the point where we are now," the source said.

The Trump administration was not involved in helping draft the agreement, the administration officials said and viewed its role mostly as getting the two sides to talk. But from the US perspective, Vance's call to Modi was a critical moment.

Vance travelled to India and met with its prime minister last month, and Trump officials believed his relationship with Modi would help on the call, officials said.

Vance's call with Modi came just a day after the vice president said the conflict was "none of our business," downplaying the potential for US influence.

"What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we're not going to get involved in the middle of war that's fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America's ability to control it," Vance told Fox News on Thursday (8 May).

"You know, America can't tell the Indians to lay down their arms. We can't tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. And so, we're going to continue to pursue this thing through diplomatic channels," Vance told Fox News.

After four days of intense military exchanges, India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire yesterday (10 May), facilitated by US-led diplomatic efforts.

The ceasefire came amid heightened fears that the conflict could escalate into a broader confrontation, with both nations on high alert.