Series Introduction
India-Middle East Relations: Opportunities and Challenges
With the United States shifting its security focus from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific, other major powers are seen as potential players that might fill the void in Middle East security. The fact that India is one such player is further manifested in the recently announced India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor.
This series of Insights seeks to unravel the evolutionary paths that the growing multifaceted connections between India and the Middle East might take and the challenges arising. India’s relationship with Israel, especially under the purview of the I2U2 partnership, which also includes the United Arab Emirates and the United States, has in particular generated much curiosity among observers. India’s longstanding economic ties with the GCC countries, along with its ties with Iraq and Iran, have added to the strategic significance of the Middle East for India and given it strong reasons for a greater role in the Middle East.
By Shafat Yousuf*
India and Iran share cultural, religious and economic ties dating back to ancient times. India has vital economic and strategic interests in Iran, ranging from energy security and counterterrorism to accessing Central Asia and Eurasia. But India’s relations with Iran are increasingly hampered by its growing strategic alignment with the United States. In complying with US sanctions and limiting its relationship with Iran, India has not only lost a reliable and cheap energy source but has also compromised its strategic autonomy and national interests. Its receding relationship with Iran opens up strategic space for China to increase its influence in Iran and the region, which defeats one of India’s key motivations in pursuing closer ties with the United States.
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Image Caption: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) with his Indian counterpart, S. Jaishankar, during bilateral talks in Tehran, 22 December 2019. AFP/Atta Kenare.
About the Author
*Dr Shafat Yousuf is an Assistant Professor at the Symbiosis School of International Studies, Symbiosis International (deemed) University, Maharashtra India. He worked previously as a Teaching Assistant at the Department of Politics, University of Manchester, UK. He studies the geopolitics of the Middle East, with a special focus on Iran and its regional allies. Dr Yousuf knows Persian and has spent a year in Iran, gaining extensive field work experience.
