India-Iran ties stay afloat despite Middle East war
While India has consistently advocated dialogue and de-escalation in the Middle East, it has also walked a delicate diplomatic line.
India on Saturday (11 April) evening deputed Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita to attend the 40th-day mourning (Chehelum) of Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, organised by the Iranian embassy in New Delhi. Margheitra offered condolences and "solemn respects" on behalf of the government of India.
India's presence at the Chehelum in the embassy is a diplomatic message that it remains an empathetic partner, willing to stand by longstanding relationships.
The outreach follows Iran's Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali's recent expression of gratitude. According to Indian media reports, Fathali thanked the Indian government for dispatching a second shipment of humanitarian assistance, mainly medicines, to Iran for those injured in airstrikes by the United States and Iran.
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The ongoing humanitarian aid flow has helped sustain a positive undercurrent in India-Iran relations despite external pressures.
While India has consistently advocated dialogue and de-escalation in the Middle East, it has also walked a delicate diplomatic line, seeking to strike a balance between its historical ties with Iran alongside its expanding strategic partnership with the US and Israel.
This is against the backdrop of the fact that the Middle East war has led to the sharpening of geopolitical fault lines.
An Indian minister attending the Chehelum of Ali Khamenei signals India's intent to maintain stable ties with Iran, which is key to India's access to Central Asia through multimodal connectivity and an important stakeholder in an infrastructure project like Chabahar Port, in which Delhi has invested financially. It also reflects New Delhi's cultural sensitivity, particularly during Iran's national mourning.
India on 5 March condoled the death of Ali Khamenei, assassinated in airstrikes by the US and Israel on 28 February, when Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri went to the Iranian embassy in Delhi and signed the condolence book.
Iran, for its part, does not want to rock its ties with India despite a perceived tilt in Delhi's stand to Washington and Tel Aviv. Both the US and Israel are India's important technology and defence partners.
On 13 April, Fathali said Iran has "good contact" with India over the passage of ships from the Strait of Hormuz, which is key to the supply of half of India's crude and LPG requirements, and wants to help Delhi with navigation. He said at a media briefing that Iran and India "share the same fate and interests" and the two countries maintain strong ties amid the challenging times.
So far nine Indian-flagged cargo ships have sailed through the Strait, while 15 India-flagged ships remain stuck on the western side of the Persian Gulf.
Also, amid the temporary waiver from the US on oil purchases from Iran, India received its first Iranian oil in seven years, according to ship-tracking data reported by Reuters. According to reports, two very large crude carriers loaded with Iranian oil have reached Indian ports.
