India sits precariously in this US-Israel-led war against its old regional partner Iran. This, says Sonia Sarkar, is because of Hindu supremacist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proximity to Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu
Military aggression is escalating in the Middle East. Israeli and US air strikes have killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. To de-escalate tensions, India urged all parties to exercise restraint. Modi advocated the pursuit of 'dialogue and diplomacy' and advised all states to prioritise 'sovereignty and territorial integrity'.
India is the only founding BRICS member that has not formally condemned the attacks on Iran. It co-sponsored UN resolution that condemned ‘egregious attacks’ by Iran against Gulf Cooperation Council countries, instead.
Coincidentally, the US-Israel air strikes began soon after Modi had concluded a whistlestop visit to Israel. Enjoying great bonhomie with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Modi signed a raft of MoUs, in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, defence and agriculture. At the Knesset, Modi pledged that India stands 'firmly, with full conviction' alongside Israel. For his 'loyalty', Modi was awarded a Speaker of the Knesset Medal, an honour which, allegedly, had never existed earlier.
In 2017, Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel, during a trip allegedly scheduled on Jeffrey Epstein's advice. That year, India was the largest buyer of Israeli weapons, purchasing $715m worth, including Pegasus spyware for monitoring the devices of opposition politicians, journalists, lawyers, and civil rights activists. More than 80% of what India buys from Israel is advanced technology designed for surveillance, protection, and accurate military strikes.
While it focused on growing proximity with Israel, India distanced itself from Iran.
Iran, however, remains an important strategic partner for India. Indeed, Iran was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with India after it became a republic; the two have over 75 years of diplomatic history. Iran serves India’s multifaceted strategic interests: engagement with West Asia, security dynamics and stability in the Persian Gulf, land access to Central Asia and Russia, energy security, and the geopolitics of Afghanistan. And India and Iran share civilisational history. Between 1950 and 2003, the two signed a friendship treaty, the Tehran Declaration and the New Delhi Declaration for deepening India-Iran co-operation.
Iran was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with India after it became a republic; the two have over 75 years of diplomatic history
Modi did not visit the Islamic Republic until 2016. The only significant arrangement with the country was a ten-year agreement to develop Chabahar Port in southeastern Iran, an important entrepôt leading to Afghanistan and Central Asia. By 2025, India had invested $120m in its development. Reports indicate that recent US-Israel strikes specifically targeted Chabahar.
Iran once supplied nearly 10% of India’s crude oil requirements. India, however, reversed this by voting against Tehran’s nuclear programme at the International Atomic Energy Agency. New Delhi eventually halted oil imports from Iran after May 2019, when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action collapsed and the US reinstated sanctions on Iranian oil exports. US President Donald Trump recently suggested that India will buy oil from Venezuela instead of Iran, and it allowed India a 30 day-window in March to purchase oil from Russia.
Beginning with his visit to the UAE in August 2015, Modi launched a focused outreach to West Asia. His visits boosted political and economic ties with the region, but Modi made little attempt to build the kind of solid, strategic partnership India enjoys with Israel. India–Iran bilateral trade has declined sharply, from about $17 billion in 2018 to roughly $1.68 billion in 2024–25. Indian investments in Iran’s oil and gas sector, too, have largely stalled.
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its Hindu nationalist supporters are increasingly engaging with Israel.
Israel is a close defence partner and source of critical military technology to India. For Hindu nationalist Modi and his BJP, the country has also become a model state for strong ethno-nationalist governance and effective counterterrorism.
For Modi and his BJP, Israel has become a model for strong ethno-nationalist governance and effective counterterrorism
Israel is fragmented, polarised and divided by ethnicity, religion and ideology. India, too, is highly polarised. Since Modi's election, India has been drawing on elements of Israeli security and nationalism models. Critics say this has reinforced majoritarian politics at home. The BJP – flagbearers of Hindu majoritarian Hindutva ideology – has adopted an aggressively populist posture. Supporters repeat anti-Muslim rhetoric and diminish the rights of non-Hindus.
Israel has demolished thousands of Palestinian homes, hospitals, and places of worship in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, displacing tens of thousands of residents. Similarly, in India, authorities have demolished houses and religious sites belonging to Muslims, whom authorities often portray as 'foreigners' or the 'other'. Hindu nationalists celebrated Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Like the Israelis, Hindu nationalists rejoiced at the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, much as Indian Shia Muslims mourned it.
India should now move beyond Israeli-style nationalism. Indeed, it has taken cautious steps to engage with Iran. On 28 February, India granted safe harbour to the Iranian naval ship IRIS Lavan at Kochi. Its crew has stayed at naval facilities since 4 March. Following the recent air attacks, India’s foreign secretary signed the condolence book at the Iranian Embassy.
Ideally, India must secure a long-term safe passage for its ships carrying liquefied petroleum gas transiting the Strait of Hormuz. This will help deal with rising energy costs at home.
India and Iran share a deep cultural connection. Once tensions around Iran ease, the two must therefore engage in meaningful diplomacy.
India and Iran share a deep cultural connection. Once tensions around Iran ease, the two must therefore engage in meaningful diplomacy
The UAE has agreed to store some of its oil reserves in India. New Delhi could explore a similar arrangement with Iran. Qatar remains India’s largest natural gas supplier; it also sources substantial volumes from Abu Dhabi. If Iran resumes gas exports, reviving negotiations on the Iran-Oman-India pipeline might significantly strengthen India’s long-term energy security.
Naval cooperation with Iran would also protect vital lanes in the Arabian Sea, securing the safe passage of Indian vessels.
After the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Iran expanded engagement with the Taliban. India, too, now counts the Taliban as friends. India and Iran could consider joint counterterrorism exercises with groups operating from Pakistan, especially those near Iran’s border with Pakistan.
Will Modi be able to upset his ‘brother’ Netanyahu, and engage with Iran for India’s strategic gain?
