On the evening of 12 March 2026, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian as the rapidly escalating conflict between Iran and the joint military campaign led by the United States and Israel entered its third week.
Tehran urged India, which currently chairs BRICS, to assume what it described as a "strong and constructive role" in stabilising the crisis that has already disrupted global energy markets, shipping routes and regional security dynamics across West Asia.
The call followed four wartime conversations between Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar since hostilities erupted on 28 February 2026.
According to the Iranian readout, Pezeshkian emphasised that Iran "did not initiate the war and has no desire to prolong it," while insisting that Tehran had exercised its "legitimate right of self-defence" in striking US military bases in the region.
Jaishankar later confirmed the conversation publicly, noting that the two ministers had discussed "bilateral matters as well as BRICS related issues."
Yet behind these formal diplomatic exchanges lies a far more consequential geopolitical reality. The crisis has exposed one of the most delicate strategic dilemmas in India's contemporary foreign policy: the widening distance between New Delhi and Tehran even as India simultaneously deepens its partnerships with Washington and Tel Aviv.
For decades India's diplomatic success in West Asia rested on its ability to maintain relationships with all sides simultaneously. The current war is testing whether that balancing strategy can still survive in an era of intensifying geopolitical polarisation.
The Precursor: Modi's Israel Visit and the War That Followed
The geopolitical context of the war became even more striking because of events that preceded it.
On 25 February 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, during a high-profile state visit to Israel.
In his address he declared:"India stands firmly with Israel in its fight against terror and in defence of democratic values."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Modi as "a great friend of Israel and a leader of one of the world's most important nations."
Netanyahu told lawmakers that India and Israel were entering "a new era of strategic cooperation in defence innovation, intelligence sharing and advanced technology."
The symbolism of the visit was profound. Defence cooperation between the two countries now includes missile defence systems, surveillance technologies, cyber capabilities and unmanned aerial platforms.
However the timing proved geopolitically dramatic.
Less than 48 hours after Modi's visit, US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes against Iranian military infrastructure across multiple cities.
Iran retaliated with missile attacks on US bases in the Gulf and the conflict rapidly escalated into a broader regional confrontation.
Strategic analysts at the Atlantic Council later described the opening phase of the war as "one of the most significant military confrontations between Iran and Western forces in decades."
The proximity of these events inevitably raised questions across West Asia about India's diplomatic positioning.
Silence, Symbolism and Diplomatic Signalling
India's official response to the conflict has been characterised by what many analysts describe as carefully calibrated restraint.
New Delhi called for "de-escalation and dialogue" but did not condemn the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
India also avoided direct criticism of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip despite growing international concern about humanitarian conditions.
Equally significant was the absence of an official condolence message after the reported death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during the early stages of the conflict.
For Iranian political circles, these omissions carried symbolic meaning.
Former Indian diplomat T. P. Sreenivasan observed that "India's traditional policy in West Asia has been one of careful balance. The present crisis shows how difficult that equilibrium has become."
Strategic commentator Brahma Chellaney similarly wrote that the war highlights "the narrowing strategic space for multi-alignment in a world of sharpening geopolitical rivalries."
Maritime Warfare and India's Energy Lifeline
The conflict quickly spilled into the maritime domain, threatening one of the world's most critical energy corridors.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 percent of global oil shipments pass, became a theatre of missile launches, drone surveillance and naval manoeuvres.
Iran targeted several commercial vessels suspected of supporting Western logistics networks while US naval forces expanded patrol operations across the Gulf.
For India the implications are enormous.
India imports more than 85 percent of its crude oil, with a substantial portion arriving from Gulf producers.
Energy markets reacted immediately.
Global crude prices surged sharply in the first week of the conflict while maritime insurance premiums for ships crossing the Gulf rose significantly.
Despite the tensions Iran allowed Indian-flagged tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a gesture interpreted by analysts as a signal that Tehran still values its economic relationship with New Delhi.
Energy analyst Vandana Hari remarked that "Even during geopolitical crises Iran has historically tried to preserve energy relationships with major Asian buyers such as India."
The Strategic Gateway at Risk: Chabahar
Perhaps the most consequential strategic casualty of the crisis is the uncertain future of the Chabahar Port project.
Located on Iran's southeastern coast along the Gulf of Oman, Chabahar was designed as India's gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia without relying on Pakistan.
The port forms part of the broader International North-South Transport Corridor linking India with Russia and Europe.
The corridor, stretching roughly 7,200 kilometres, has the potential to reduce freight transit time between India and Europe by nearly 40 percent.
However, renewed sanctions on Iran and the escalating war have cast uncertainty over the project.
Strategic analyst C. Raja Mohan has warned that "Chabahar was not merely a port project. It was India's strategic bridge to Eurasia."
If India loses influence in the project, it risks surrendering strategic space to competing powers.
The Shadow of China
One such power is clearly China.
Beijing already maintains a long-term strategic partnership with Iran and has pledged tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure investment.
Under the China-Iran comprehensive cooperation framework, Chinese companies are expected to invest heavily in Iranian transport corridors, ports and energy infrastructure.
If India reduces its engagement in Chabahar, analysts believe China could integrate the port into its broader Belt and Road Initiative network.
Strategic scholar Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has warned that "Infrastructure competition across Eurasia is increasingly shaping geopolitical influence."
Iran's Earlier Support for India
The current tensions are particularly striking given Iran's past support for India at critical moments.
In 1994, Iran refused to support a Pakistan-backed resolution against India at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights regarding Kashmir.
Iran also cooperated with India in supporting the Northern Alliance during the Afghan conflict following the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
For many years, Iran was among India's largest crude oil suppliers, providing roughly 10 per cent of India's oil imports before sanctions reduced the flow.
These episodes illustrate that India-Iran relations historically rested on pragmatic strategic cooperation.
Strategic Realignment in a Multipolar World
The present conflict reveals deeper structural shifts in India's foreign policy.
Three forces are reshaping India's strategic orientation.
Defence partnership with Israel
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Israel accounted for roughly 13 percent of India's arms imports between 2018 and 2024.
Systems supplied include the Barak-8 missile defence system, Phalcon airborne radar platforms, Heron surveillance drones and advanced electronic warfare technologies produced by companies such as Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the partnership as "a strategic alliance based on shared security challenges."
Strategic convergence with the United States
Defence cooperation with the United States has expanded dramatically through agreements such as LEMOA, COMCASA and BECA.
According to the Congressional Research Service, defence trade between the two countries has grown from less than one billion dollars in 2008 to more than twenty-five billion dollars today.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that "The United States sees India as an indispensable partner in maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific."
Economic integration with Western markets
Trade between India and the United States exceeded 190 billion dollars in 2024, according to the World Bank and India's commerce ministry.
Technology initiatives under the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology have expanded cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
Future Scenarios
Three possible trajectories may emerge.
Strategic Alignment
India could deepen cooperation with the United States and Israel while limiting engagement with Iran.
Strategic Rebalancing
India could attempt to maintain engagement with Iran through forums such as BRICS while sustaining ties with Western partners.
Strategic Mediation
India could attempt to position itself as a diplomatic mediator in West Asia.
Former Indian National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon has argued that, "India's greatest diplomatic advantage lies in its ability to maintain dialogue with multiple power centres."
The End of the Old Balance?
The conversation between Masoud Pezeshkian and Narendra Modi captures the paradox of the present moment.
Iran still publicly calls India a friend and emphasises centuries of civilisational exchange between the Persian and Indian worlds.
Yet the geopolitical environment surrounding the relationship has changed dramatically.
India's expanding strategic partnership with Israel, its growing alignment with the United States and the uncertain future of the Chabahar project all point to a profound transformation in India-Iran relations.
The war in West Asia may therefore represent a historic turning point.
For decades, India's strength in the region lay in its ability to maintain relationships with all sides simultaneously.
The central question today is whether the emerging geopolitical order will still allow such a strategy to endure.
[Major General Dr. Dilawar Singh, IAV, is a distinguished strategist having held senior positions in technology, defence, and corporate governance. He serves on global boards and advises on leadership, emerging technologies, and strategic affairs, with a focus on aligning India's interests in the evolving global technological order.]
