India’s U.S.-Israel relationship is testing ties with Iran

While millions of barrels of oil flow to China via the Strait of Hormuz, India While New Delhi’s deepening ties with the United States and Israel have strained relations with Iran, Tehran’s former ally has yet to provide safe passage for its ships stuck in the critical waterway.

Two Indian ships carrying liquefied petroleum gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, but this meaning Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told The Financial Times on Monday that a “blanket deal” had been struck with Tehran.

Jaishankar also denied claims that the safe passage of the two ships was part of the mutual agreement with Iran. New Delhi sends home nearly 100 Iranian naval officers on a private flight on Saturday, according to multiple media reports.

India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and second-largest consumer of liquefied petroleum gas, is grappling with rising energy costs and panic buying amid a supply crunch triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

But rising tensions with Tehran, combined with a growing public perception that New Delhi is tilting toward Washington, are weakening India’s ability to ensure safe passage for its energy supplies, experts said.

During the 80 years since independence, India has largely followed a policy of “neutrality and interaction with all parties”. However, speaking to ‘Inside India’, KC Singh, former Indian ambassador to the UAE and Iran, said New Delhi’s tilt towards the US and Israel is now “clear”.

He added that there is a widely circulated image. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugs Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu The Indian leader’s visit to Israel last month “will remain on Persians’ minds” and will likely impact India’s influence on Tehran.

During a telephone conversation between the foreign ministers of India and Iran on Friday, Tehran asked the members: BRICS, chaired by India condemn US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Analysts say this puts New Delhi in a difficult position as it appears comfortable aligning with Washington and Tel Aviv.

Raymond E. Vickery, Jr., senior partner at the global foreign policy think tank CSIS. “It is no coincidence that Prime Minister Modi spoke in the Israeli parliament just three days before the US-Israeli attack on Iran and was hailed as a ‘brother’ by Prime Minister Netanyahu,” he told CNBC in an email.

India is the only founding BRICS member that did not condemn the attack on Iran or the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the US-Israeli military strikes on February 28. Vikram Misri signed the condolence book at the Iranian embassy According to local media reports, on March 5 in India.

“India has embraced the US-Israeli contention that Iran is the source of radical Islamic terrorism,” Vickery Jr. added. He, however, stated that “India will seek to salvage what it can from Iran relations through appeals for peace and by seeking special protection for Indian shipping and citizens.”

Even in moments of exceptional cooperation, the discord between Tehran and New Delhi is hard to miss.

On Wednesday, India co-sponsored a resolution. UN Security Council condemns Iran’s “horrific” attacks It is directed at Gulf Cooperation Council countries and demands “an immediate halt to all attacks by Tehran.” Iran claimed that it did not accept US-Israeli aggression and described the decision as “unfair and unlawful”.

“I wouldn’t say India’s relations with Iran have deteriorated, but New Delhi is clearly leaning towards the United States, Israel and the Gulf Arab states,” Chietigj Bajpaee, senior research fellow for South Asia at Chatham House, said in an email to CNBC. Bajpaee added that bilateral relations are gradually deteriorating.

Bajpaee said New Delhi has reduced funding for the Chabahar Port project in Iran after the US refused to extend sanctions exemptions for India’s port terminal operation beyond April 2026. India also stopped purchasing crude oil from Iran following the collapse of the Iran nuclear deal during the first Trump administration.

Leaders of opposition parties in India last week questioned Government’s reluctance to condemn attacks on Iran, arguing that the Modi administration’s foreign policy choices are directed towards Iran accommodating India’s “energy security.”

— CNBC’s Anniek Bao contributed to this report.