INDIA’S RELATIONS WITH IRAN IN THE POST-COLD WAR ERA: A GEOPOLITICAL APPRAISAL

This article provides a geopolitical appraisal of the relationship between India and Iran in the post-Cold War era. It examines how the end of the bipolar world order created a new strategic convergence between the two regional powers. The study analyzes the key drivers of their evolving partnership. These include shared energy interests, with Iran being a major supplier of oil and gas to India; common concerns about the rise of the Taliban and religious extremism in Afghanistan; and a shared interest in developing new trade and transit corridors that could connect India to Central Asia via Iran, bypassing Pakistan. The research also explores the major constraints on the relationship, particularly the pressure from the United States on India to limit its ties with Iran due to the ongoing nuclear controversy. The paper argues that despite these constraints, a strong geopolitical logic was driving the two countries towards a deeper strategic partnership. The analysis concludes by assessing the significance of the Indo-Iranian relationship for the broader regional balance of power.

The end of the Cold War and the emergence of a new geopolitical landscape in Asia led to a significant and strategic realignment between India and Iran. This paper provides a detailed geopolitical appraisal of this evolving relationship. The study begins by contrasting the post-Cold War partnership with the more distant relationship that existed during the Cold War. The core of the article is an analysis of the key pillars of the new strategic convergence. The first and most important pillar is energy security. The paper details India's growing dependence on imported energy and Iran's status as an energy superpower, making them natural partners. It discusses the ambitious plans for energy cooperation, including the proposed IPI gas pipeline. The second pillar is the shared strategic concern regarding Afghanistan. The paper analyzes how both India and Iran viewed the Taliban regime as a major threat to their interests and how this led to their close cooperation in supporting the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. The third pillar is connectivity. The study explores the joint efforts to develop the Chabahar port in Iran as a strategic gateway for India to access the markets of Afghanistan and Central Asia, thereby circumventing its lack of an overland route through Pakistan. The paper also provides a balanced analysis of the major challenge to the relationship: the strong opposition from the United States to India's engagement with Iran. The findings suggest that India was performing a delicate balancing act, trying to build a strategic partnership with Iran while also managing its growing strategic alliance with the US.