As Iran retaliates against Israeli aggression and hits deep inside Tel Aviv, India, which shares cordial relations with both countries, has exhibited a major foreign policy gaffe by subtly siding with Israel. India’s stance on the Iran-Israel conflict has again raised doubts about New Delhi’s commitment towards the Global South countries, which it intends to lead in the 21st century.
On the one hand, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), unlike other major BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members China and Russia, refused to extend solidarity with fellow member Iran. On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to speak with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, first, once the conflict started, rather than Iranian President Dr Massoud Pezeshkian, whose country faced unprovoked attacks by Tel Aviv.
India has also distanced itself from the SCO’s condemnation of Israeli attacks on Iran, claiming it was not consulted before the statement was drafted, indicating its willingness to be seen as an ally of Israel rather than fellow SCO member Iran.
Moreover, India sealed its West Asia stance by abstaining during a crucial vote on the Gaza ceasefire in the United Nations.
The indifference shown by India towards the Iran-Israel conflict and the Israeli aggression on Gaza highlights the Modi government’s complicity in the ongoing Israeli crimes in the region.
India’s role in the Iran-Israel conflict
Since the beginning of Israel’s October 2023 Gaza invasion, Mr Modi’s government has repeatedly exhibited its support for Israel under the garb of opposing terrorism.
India continues the same stance even at the beginning of a new round of the Iran-Israel conflict.
Soon after Israel launched its unprovoked attacks on Iran on Friday, June 13th, the Indian MEA said it’s concerned about the escalation, without using a single word to condemn the attacks on a friendly nation.
“We are deeply concerned at the recent developments between Iran and Israel,” the MEA’s statement said.
“We are closely monitoring the evolving situation, including reports related to attacks on nuclear sites,” it highlighted.
“India urges both sides to avoid any escalatory steps. Existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy should be utilised to work towards a de-escalation of the situation and resolving underlying issues,” the MEA suggested, knowing well that Iran and Israel have no diplomatic relations.
Moreover, India even knows that Israeli attacks on Iran were provocative to trigger a larger conflict in the region, drag the US-led collective West to Tel Aviv’s side and topple the republican government in Iran to restore the monarchy under the deposed king’s pro-Zionist son.
While the MEA said “India enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support, (sic)” it avoided stressing that Israel must cease the attacks.
After the Indian MEA’s statement, Mr Modi tweeted that he received a call from Mr Netanyahu after Iran launched its attacks. “He briefed me on the evolving situation. I shared India’s concerns and emphasized the need for early restoration of peace and stability in the region, (sic)” Mr Modi wrote on X.
Mr Modi didn’t say anything regarding Israel’s attacks on Iran, killing of top nuclear scientists and military leadership, including the chief of staff and head of the elite Islamic Revolution Guards Corps commander-in-chief.
It raised questions on India’s principled opposition to the concept of state-sponsored terrorism.
As Israel has been accused of state-sponsored terrorism and Israeli prime minister and other leaders have warrants against them from the International Criminal Court, remaining mute on their approach further weakens India’s long-standing position on terrorism.
This is harmful for India’s reputation, especially when Mr Modi sent several teams of senior politicians and diplomats to brief different countries about Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.
One such team toured West Asia to raise India’s concerns over Pakistani “state-sponsored terrorism”, while remaining mute on Israel’s acts of terror in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
These actions highlight how Mr Modi’s government is keen to appease Israelis to deepen their ties.
This weak stance exposed India’s hypocrisy and further isolated it in the Global South.
G-7 gaffe
Mr Modi looked forward to an invitation to the G-7 Summit from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, which arrived late.
Nevertheless, the prime minister visited Canada, where the rich, white men’s nations collectively stood in support of Israel.
India is invited to the G-7 because the US-led collective West aims to push forward the stalled India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project, which Washington has designed to counter China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI).
In the G-7 resolution on the Iran-Israel conflict, the G-7 members said they “affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel.”
Criticising Tehran’s role, the rich countries’ body said, “Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror.”
“We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” it added, while remaining mum about the illegal possession of nuclear weapons by Israel.
Although India isn’t a G-7 member, its presence at the summit indicates its alignment with the Zionist entity during the Iran-Israel conflict.
It raises questions regarding India’s claim of being a friend of the Global South— distancing from the SCO and relying on the G-7.
What did others do?
India’s rival Pakistan outmanoeuvred it by taking a stance against Israeli aggression, conforming to the general outlook of SCO members.
This further caused a setback to India’s long-term diplomatic efforts to isolate Pakistan on the global stage.
While India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated India’s fixed cliché, which the MEA uses while taking an opportunistic position in a conflict, during a discussion with his Iranian counterpart, Pakistan has made a bold move.
Throwing an open challenge to Israel, the sole nuclear power Muslim country has declared its support for Iran.
This comes after Iran and Pakistan hit each other with missiles in 2024.
Pakistan’s support to Iran and India’s opportunistic distancing have strengthened the Islamabad-Tehran ties, ignoring past hostilities.
This bonhomie puts at risk India’s stake in Iran’s Chabahar Port.
For India, the Chabahar Port is not just a key link to the Central Asian countries, but also a strategic move against China.
New Delhi has helped build the port to connect to Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan’s Gwadar Port in the restive Balochistan province.
It’s India’s counter-response to China’s BRI, which connects Gwadar Port with China and also with Afghanistan to reach Central Asia.
Pakistan’s move also secured its interests in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran threatens to block.
Further, by standing with Iran and strongly opposing Israel, Pakistan also secured the passage of its cargo through the Red Sea across the Gulf of Aden, where the Yemeni forces have imposed a naval blockade targeting ships associated with Israel or its allies.
The inability of India to wean Iran and the Axis of Resistance it controls from the Pakistanis poses a significant risk to Indian marine traffic in the Red Sea region.
India’s bête noir, China, has condemned Israel’s attacks on Iran and called it a violation of international laws. This helped China assert itself as a leader of the Global South countries, which stand with them during a crucial period.
In a stark contrast to India’s position, which exhibited a lack of courage, the Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN, Fu Cong, said China condemns Israel’s violation of Iran’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and urged Israel to immediately cease all military adventurism.
Mr Fu was speaking at the UN Security Council’s emergency meeting on the Middle East on Friday.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that China is taking steps to push for de-escalation, while at the same time extending all help to Iran, which is a crucial fuel supplier for China.
Russia, an ally of India, also shares close ties with Israel despite sharing strong defence ties with Iran.
Still, Moscow, which now attempts to woo the US to have a favourable deal in terms of Ukraine, didn’t bow to Israeli pressures.
Speaking on the issue of Israeli attacks on Iran, the Kremlin stated, “Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia condemned Israel’s actions, which had been carried out in violation of the UN Charter and international law. The Russian side has been fully supporting the efforts to resolve the situation around Iran’s nuclear programme peacefully and has proposed concrete initiatives aimed at reaching mutually acceptable agreements. Russia will continue to promote a de-escalation between Iran and Israel.”
In his telephonic conversation with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Putin expressed his concern and opposed Israel’s move and even offered to mediate between Tel Aviv and Tehran.
Russia shares strong ties with Iran, which helped it in its special military operations in Ukraine.
Although Russia’s defence ties with Iran are non-binding, it doesn’t stop it from arming Tehran at the time of need.
Media and social media rally in Israel’s support
The mainstream media in India has also taken a brazen pro-Israel position during the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.
Following the occupation’s lexicon, India’s mainstream media called Israeli terror attacks on Iran “pre-emptive” strikes and justified it by alleging that Iran is closer to a bomb, a narrative that the American-Israeli lobby peddles.
Apart from this, the Indian media has also been covering the Iran-Israel conflict from an Israeli perspective and galvanising Mr Netanyahu’s government, which is facing stiff opposition within the occupied territories.
Indian mainstream media coverage has been highlighting only Israeli attacks on Iran but not Iranian retaliation.
Moreover, they are also peddling the Israeli narratives regarding massive discontent in Iran, a prerequisite for an American regime change operation.
Throughout the conflict, Indian mainstream media has been relaying the propaganda peddled by American and Israeli media, which are tilted in favour of Tel Aviv.
Some have even gone to the extent of claiming that Iran seeks an end to hostilities, citing the Wall Street Journal’s coverage.
This utmost pro-Zionist, unapologetically Islamophobic position taken by India’s mainstream media during the Iran-Israel conflict isn’t an isolated instance.
It’s a continuation of Mr Modi’s government’s policies on West Asia.
It follows an Islamophobic template and demeans the aspirations of not just the Iranian and Palestinian people, but the entire population of West Asia, which seeks salvation from American-Israeli dominance and the endless cycle of violence in the region.
Apart from the mainstream media, India’s social media warriors, affiliated with Mr Modi’s far-right Hindutva camp, have also joined the pro-Zionist bandwagon in the Iran-Israel conflict.
Throughout social media, India’s far-right social media users are seen exhibiting more confidence in Israel than Israelis themselves and expressing solidarity with the colonial apartheid state, while mocking and opposing India’s long-term ally, Iran.
The way India’s far-right camp, which has also been celebrating the Israeli aggression and massacres in Gaza, has been exhibiting its Islamophobia and hatred against Iranians, it poses a threat to New Delhi’s long-term strategic relations with its key allies.
To be or not to be
India wants to be seen as an ally of the US and Israel. Mr Modi has been attempting to woo the us extensively since his so-called “friend” Donald Trump returned to the white house.
Although the Trump administration has refused to provide a rope to India on the trade tariffs, India still manages to woo Washington to ensure a steady supply of weapons, technology and payouts for service exports.
Moreover, Mr Modi wants the US’s support in India’s hostilities with common foe China, with which Mr Trump’s administration has started its track-two diplomacy to resolve the trade impasse.
In doing so, it has repeatedly traded India’s sovereignty, using the cliché “strategic autonomy” as a garb.
Now, as India distances itself from fellow BRICS and SCO member countries over the Iran-Israel conflict, it also isolates itself from the Global South, where the majority supports the Palestinian cause and opposes Israel.
As India under Mr Modi antagonises Tehran amid the Iran-Israel conflict by siding with Tel Aviv, it has also jeopardised the fate of its much hyped IMEC project.
As Iran threatens to block the Strait of Hormuz, it will also affect marine traffic in the Gulf of Oman, threatening the proposed IMEC route between India and the UAE.
How can India navigate these challenges if it relies solely on the possibility of an American-Israeli victory against Iran, which would restore the puppet monarchy?
How can Mr Modi continue to claim India’s growing geopolitical clout when his government evades crucial developments and fails to take a strong stance in favour of the Global South?
Unless India takes a pragmatic approach towards the West Asia conflict and plays a positive role in de-escalating the Iran-Israel conflict, it will also suffer losses, along with Israel, in the long term by alienating the Arab and Persian people.
