India-Iran relations have improved considerably because of growing energy and trade dependency and greater recognition on both sides of the conjunction of strategic interests. India should not allow relations with a potential regional ally to be disrupted by empty American threats, an international relations expert says.
In a recent interview, India’s former vice-president Hamid Ansari said, “Our relationship with Iran has been built carefully by all past governments as Iran for us is not just an energy supplier… For us, Iran is a land power on the other side of Pakistan that provides us with an alternative route to Afghanistan.”
Ansari, veteran diplomat and a former ambassador to Iran in the 1990s, made the rare remarks in response to a threat by the controversial US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, that unless India drastically reduces its energy imports from Iran by November 4, it would be subject to American sanctions, Mohammed Ayoob wrote in a piece in the well-read English-language newspaper The Hindu on Monday.
Haley’s threat reflects the Trump administration’s hubris and is an insult to Indian sovereignty. More importantly, it is in direct conflict with India’s strategic interests in the region, Ayoob said.
In May 2016, India, Iran and Afghanistan signed a pact that entailed the establishment of Transit and Transport Corridor among the three countries using Chabahar Port in southeast Iran as one of the regional hubs for sea transportation, besides the multimodal transport of goods and passengers across the three nations.
China has also expressed interest in using Chabahar for some of its export flows, but part of the rationale for India developing the port is to develop a rival to the Pakistani transit port of Gwadar, which China is developing to further its own trade ambitions for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Gwadar, on the shore of Sea of Oman, is located just 90 km from Chabahar.
Oil Supplier
Iran is India's second-largest oil supplier. India bought a record 27.2 million tons of oil from Tehran during the last financial year, which ended in March 2018. It represents a 114% increase on the previous year.
India was among a select group of countries, which maintained oil purchases from Iran when the country came under intensified western sanctions in 2011.
Indian refiners have recently expressed willingness to maintain oil imports from Iran.
The importers say they will adhere to their term supply contract obligations with the Persian Gulf producer, undeterred by Washington's efforts to restrain Tehran's oil sales.
Last week, Reuters reported that India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) canceled the purchase of an Iranian oil cargo earlier this month after its insurance company refused to provide coverage for the crude because of US sanctions, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The insurance issues may mean a reduction in imports even as India is intent on continuing dealings with Iran.
