India caught between BRICS unity and West Asia tensions

When Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Thursday (12 March), it marked the fourth telephonic contact between the two leaders in recent days.

One of the issues discussed, as mentioned by Jaishankar, by the two leaders was BRICS. This has added to New Delhi's diplomatic dilemmas apart from the challenges posed by the US-Israel war on Iran in West Asia.

India is the current chair of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Indonesia) and is likely to host the grouping's next annual summit later this year.

In a statement following Jaishankar's previous call with Araghchi, the Iranian government, in Persian, briefed the Indian minister on the fallout from what it termed the "aggressions and crimes committed" by the US and Israel, and "its consequences on regional and global stability."

Araghchi, according to the Iranian readout, urged international and regional organisations to condemn the "military aggression" against Iran and underscored the "importance, role, and position of BRICS."

The challenge for India is clear: how to forge a consensus within BRICS when three members, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, are on opposing sides of the current conflict. Bilaterally, Russia and China have openly condemned the US-Israel strikes on Iran, while India has so far limited its response to criticism of the attacks on Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in contrast, have condemned the strikes against them.

So, how does a joint response by BRICS emerge in this situation? India's diplomatic challenge is how to balance its strategic ties with the US, Israel and other sides while focusing on the safety of about 10 million Indians in West Asia, energy requirements and regional stability.

"India's policy has been very cautious. Its interests are far more aligned with the US than with Iran. That explains why it condoled, rather than condemned, Ali Khamenei's killing, even though it was a clear violation of international law," said Rajan Kumar, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

India's first formal condolence over Khamenei's death came five days after the incident, when Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian Embassy in Delhi and signed the condolence book.

Kumar added, "The timing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Israel in February was clearly unfortunate. Policymakers could not have anticipated that the US-Israel attacks on Iran would occur so soon, which created misleading optics from the perspective of a balanced policy."

He noted, "India's policy is not completely determined by Israel. Yes, Israel is an important partner, but in the past we also have pursued our ties with Israel without damaging our relations with other countries."

"India is primarily concerned about offending the US. At this juncture, it would not want to antagonise the Trump administration, and that is why it has refrained from issuing statements condemning Khamenei's killing," he added.