Iran Tracker

Reaction to 2009 Iranian Presidential Election:

In July 2009, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his June re-election, stating that “[t]here is no doubt that your continued cooperation will further enhance the bilateral ties between Iran and India in a way that will serve the two countries' national interests."[1]

Nuclear:

India has publicly supported Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear technology, but Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that Iran must pursue a nuclear enrichment program “in accordance with its own international commitments and obligations, [and must] satisfy the international community that its program is indeed peaceful,".[2] Although India voted in 2005 to take the issue of Iran’s enrichment activities to the UN Security Council, it has since repeatedly insisted on a peaceful resolution to the conflict and stated it will not support any threats of violence made against Iran for its nuclear program.[3]

On December 31, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki expressed Iran's disappointment to his Indian counterpart S. M. Krishna, that India had voted in favor of a recent resolution by the IAEA against Tehran’s nuclear program. In his letter, Mottaki drew a parallel between Iran’s nuclear program and India nuclear tests. Krishna, however, responded saying that India’s case is different and that its non-proliferation record is free from blemishes. He said New Delhi has always kept its commitment towards the International Atomic Energy Agency.[4]

Economic Relationship:

Much of India and Iran’s economic cooperation centers on hydrocarbon trade. India has sought to buy oil and gas from Iran to help feed its energy needs, which fuel India’s rapid development. The two countries have been exploring an Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline (IPI), which would provide India with a steady source of Iranian natural gas, though India has been hesitant to commit.[5] According to one Iranian official, “there seems to be no urgency from India. Like last year, India has not joined Iran and Pakistan at the secretary-level meeting in Teheran.”[6] India is an ally of the United States, which has opposed the pipeline as it would provide Iran with oil revenue that could undermine the UNSC, EU, and American sanctions against the Iranian nuclear program. India’s alliance with the United States has slowed the development of relations with Iran, particularly as the United States and Iran have clashed over Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities.[7] In May 2009, India said it was still unsure about joining the IPI, despite Iran and Pakistan signing a deal that month to begin construction without India’s participation.[8] In June 2009, India’s Reliance Industries Ltc halted gasoline exports to Iran to avoid possible restriction on sales in the United States, which has increased pressure against companies selling gasoline to Iran.[9]  Despite these impediments, Iran-India bilateral trade has increased in recent years, reaching $9 billion per year in 2008; Iranian hydrocarbon exports to India constitute most of this trade.[10]

Although India’s participation in the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline appears in doubt, India and Iran entered into a new round of negotiations in July 2009 over the development of the offshore Farzad B gas field. According to the Iranian Mehr News Agency, a consortium of Indian oil firms is planning on investing $4-5 billion in the first phase of the project, located in the Persian Gulf.[11]

In October 2009, Iran greatly reduced India’s involvement in the Iranian South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf.  The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation-Hinduja Group was promised a 60 percent stake in the venture, but Iran has since given a third of that stake to the Angolan oil firm, Sonangol.  Tehran said that US pressure on New Dehli has caused the deal to waver.  Despite this, Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said India “will continue to pursue projects in Iran and back [India’s] PSUs in [ONGC’s] bid to get oil and gas fields.”[12]  At an official visit to India in November 2009, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki continued to court India to join the natural gas pipeline project saying that “the door is open for our Indian friends.”[13] 

In November 2009, Indian state exporter Oil and Natural Gas Corp sought a 20-25 percent stake in the Iranian South Pars gas field.[14]  ONGC, India’s biggest energy producer, announced that it is willing to meet with executives from the National Iranian Oil Company at the end of November 2009 to discuss “specific opportunities”.  Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC, R.S. Sharma said “in important dependent countries like ours, we have to see where are the future sources of energy supplies [sic].”[15]

Iran Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said that China is keen to join the Pakistan-Iran Gas Pipeline Project, formerly the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline. Mottaki said the work on the gas pipeline project would start soon and Beijing is likely to join the project. India became more hesitant to participate in the IPI as international pressure against Iran’s nuclear program increased, though Indian officials cited 'security' and 'non viability' of the proposed pipeline as the main reason for finally declining to participate in the project.[16] According to a poll taken in February 2010, however, the majority of Pakistan believes that the project would be more useful if China joins it.[17]

[Click here for more information about India’s business activity with Iran.]

 

Diplomatic/Military Relationship:

Although India has voted in favor of imposing UN sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program, the two countries have continued to pursue a cordial diplomatic relationship. [18] As two powerful countries in close proximity, India and Iran share geopolitical interests as well as commercial interests, which arise from Iran’s capacity to provide India with the energy it requires. In March 2009, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Russia, Iran, India, and Russia discussed cooperating to contain the Taliban in Afghanistan.[19] In order to demonstrate mutual goodwill, India’s Institute of Military Law in Kamptee began training senior judge advocates general from the Iranian Army in 2008.[20] According to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran and India “must get prepared through strengthening bilateral ties for big changes in the world and filling the power gap in the region."[21] Indian officials have denied a growing military relationship with Iran, however, and have assured the United States that the two countries’ joint working group on defense has not met since 2003, when Iran’s nuclear program became a major international concern.[22]]

The 11th Mumbai Film Festival opened in October 2009 but Iranian authorities refused to issue Iranian director and jury member Jafar Panahi a passport to travel to the festival.  Mumbai Academy of Moving Image chairman Shyam Benegal said in his opening speech, “we urge the Iranian authorities to allow Mr. Panahi to travel to India.  He is welcome to participate in the festival.”[23]

In November 2009, India held discussions on the expansion of military cooperation with Iran.  The improved military relations would include Indian training of Iranian troops, satellite services, and joint naval exercises in the Gulf. [24]

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao held extensive discussions with Iranian leaders on bilateral relations between India and Iran during a two-day visit to Tehran. They exchanged views on regional issues including on Afghanistan, cross-border terrorism, and other matters of regional and global importance. Rao was in the Iranian capital for the 7th round of Foreign Office Consultations/Strategic Dialogue between the two countries at the invitation of her counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia & Oceania Mohammad Ali Fathollahi.[25]

In February 2010, Iranian Ambassador to India Seyed Mehdi Nabizadeh expressed Iran's support for India’s opposition to the concept of “good” and “bad” Taliban, dismissing recent western overtures to the Taliban at last month’s conference on Afghanistan held in London. “Our experience is not to believe in the ‘good-and-bad’ Taliban theory. Taliban is Taliban. Extremists should not be part of any government in Kabul,” Nabisadeh said.[26] He cautioned that the return of the Taliban would further deteriorate regional security, and advocated a regional approach involving India to address the Afghan issue, saying that Tehran, like New Delhi, has a large stake in Afghanistan stability.[27]