Oily Issues: Why the US-Iran Nuke Deal is Important for India

A nuclear deal between US and Iran will have positive implications for India writes security expert Nitin Gokhale.

The Iran nuclear deal clinched after 18 months of torturous negotiations earlier this month can be viewed many different perspectives. One is of course that the unrelenting hostility between the United States and Iran over the past 35 years, is set to mellow down if not completely disappear. That in itself will change many an equation in West Asia.

The second and more tangible outcome is that the agreement limits Iran’s nuclear ambition, although countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel would have liked a complete cap on the Iranian attempt to make a bomb.

However, viewed purely from India’s perspective, the deal is a win-win for both Tehran and New Delhi. Lifting of the sanctions against Iran in the wake of the agreement will allow India to re-engage with Tehran.

India must now look to import LNG and oil from Iran in a much larger quantity since the international pressure not to deal with Iran has now eased. In fact, it will not be a surprise if talks on the oil and gas pipeline from Iran to India get revived again.

In the short run however, New Delhi should push hard on activating the Chahabar Port project that will give India secure access to Afghanistan and onward to Central Asia.

India has already planned to invest a modest 85 million dollars to revamp part of the port that gives it access to Afghanistan. As a next step, India should re-energise an already existing proposal to establish an International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) with Bandar Abbas port in Iran as the hub for this road which geographically remains the most economical land route for access to Central Asian Republics.

If all goes well, Iran is poised to once again become a major regional power in West Asia and it is for India to seize the opportunity in coming months and years to take advantage of its age old ties with Iran.

There will be a lot of strategic competition to deal with while engaging with Teheran since its geographical location, ample natural and human resources gives it the necessary heft to play a more influential role in the geopolitics of the Arab and Gulf world.

Teheran’s role in Kabul cannot be underestimated either. Against this backdrop, Indian diplomacy will have to be at its dexterous best to pull off a balancing act in its relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran—not exactly best of friends—if it wants to keep its relevance in the region in tact.