AIR Spotlight: Strategic Importance of India-Iran Relations

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio News on air. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation.

This article is about the discussion on: Strategic Importance of India-Iran Relations.

Participants:

• Ashok Sajjanhar: Former Diplomat
• Omvesh Upadhyay: AIR Correspondent

Context – The National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval was on a one-day visit to Tehran at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani where he held wide-ranging talks focusing on political, economic and security ties between India and Iran. This visit comes ahead of Iran’s formal entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). India as the Chair of SCO in 2023 will host the SCO Summit on 3-4 July 2023. 

Introduction –

The National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval was on a day-long visit to Iran. Shri Doval held separate talks with his Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian. The NSA also held talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi who pitched for taking India-Iran ties to the next level, especially in the economic and commercial fields.

• Doval’s visit to Iran came ahead of a foreign ministerial meeting of the foreign ministers of the SCO members in Goa. 
• India is the current Chair of the SCO and Iran is set to be made a permanent member of the grouping at its annual summit to be held on 3-4 July 2023 in New Delhi.
• At present, SCO has eight members – China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became the 7th and 8th members in 2017 and Iran will be the ninth member of the SCO.
• It is important to mention that SCO is the first multilateral or intergovernmental organisation that Iran is joining since the Iranian revolution in 1979.

Expansion of bilateral economic and trade relations between India and Iran-

India and Iran share close civilisational ties since the times of the Persian Empire and Indian kingdoms. Iran is an important nation in India’s neighbourhood and the two countries shared a border until India’s partition and independence in 1947.

• Till 2019, Iran used to be an important supplier of crude oil. India used to import about 10% of its oil from Iran and now its imports are almost negligible. India stopped procurement of crude oil from Iran after the United States did not continue with sanction waivers to India and several other countries.
• The leaders discussed economic, political and security ties between the two countries as well as the important regional and international developments. 
• The Chabahar Port project in Iran was discussed and forms a key focus area in the bilateral ties between India and Iran.

Chabahar Port-

The port of Chabahar is located in Southeastern Iran in the Gulf of Oman.  It is the only Iranian port with direct access to the ocean. The Chabahar port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost connectivity and trade ties.

• It is considered a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran and Afghanistan with Central Asian countries.
• The Chabahar port actually contains two separate ports called Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti. Indian firm India Ports Global Limited took over operations at the Shaheed Beheshti Port. The port development should not be viewed in isolation but also from the prism of other opportunities which India can derive from this venture.
• The Chabahar port will boost India’s access to Iran, the key gateway to the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that has sea, rail and road routes between India, Russia, Iran, Europe and Central Asia.

Strengthening the bilateral cooperation between India and Iran can help in enhancing regional security and stability-

Both India and Iran are by and large on the same page as far as stability and security in Afghanistan are concerned. When the Taliban used to be in power from 1996 – 2001, India, Iran and the Russian Federation supported the Northern Alliance and were working against the Taliban. 

• In 2021, the Taliban took over power in Kabul but there is not a single country in the world that has accorded political recognition to the Taliban regime in Kabul.
• The Taliban had committed that they would have an inclusive government when they came to power, i.e., not only Pashtoons that are a majority in the Taliban, but the administration would also include minorities – Tajiks (comprising 20-28% of the population in North-Eastern Afghanistan), Hazaras, Shias and other minority communities. However, these communities have not been included.
• Also, the Taliban has agreed to provide an appropriate political and economic space for girls and women in Afghanistan. However, nothing of that sort has happened. Recently, in a landmark resolution, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned the Afghanistan government’s decision to ban women nationals from working for the United Nations, and called for Taliban leaders to swiftly reverse their decision. The resolution was passed unanimously by the fifteen-member body in New York, calling for full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan. 
• There are a number of terrorist groups in Afghanistan – Al-Qaeda, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, etc. There is a constant threat of terrorist actions taking place against some of the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan.
• These issues are of concern to both India and Iran. India is strongly in favour of according the rightful place of women in Afghanistan. On regional and security issues both the countries can work together and there are a number of formats like the Moscow Format, Heart of Asia  Format, and Tashkent Model on which both Iran and India are participating and working together to ensure that regional security in the countries around Afghanistan are maintained. 

Cultural and Historical Similarities between India and Iran-

The cultural relations between Indians and Iranians have produced exceptional results, especially in the field of art and culture. Looking at the history of Iran and India, one can recognise the strong relations of these two cultures from pre-Aryan and later pre-Islamic Persia and Vedic Civilisation Era to the Muslim cultures of the Mughals and Safawids. India and Iran enjoy a common civilisation background, and share an interdependent cultural heritage. India and Iran have always shared deep social, cultural, economic and political connections and relations that have enriched both civilisations.

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