Tip of the Iceberg : Indo-Iran relations

After, the US broke off from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or commonly known as the Iran Nuclear Deal where they accused Iran of violating the deal by not disclosing a past covert nuclear weapons program although the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said otherwise. The repercussions came when they announced sanctions on all the business trades with Iran mainly in Oil, which gave a major blow to our Energy situation as India is one of the largest importers of crude oil from Iran.

Although in recent updates the US gave a waiver to those sanctions for 8 countries which includes India and the official release is to be out on 5th November, the US has proposed that we ensure no further deals with Iran in the future and for the purpose to stabilize the economy due to rising oil prices they offered a waiver from the sanction but only once. Eventually, India has agreed to cut its imports on oil by 15% moreover the latest reports suggest that India is planning to cut its oil imports completely by November.

Though the government may be rejoicing over the fact that we have been given a waiver from the sanctions which reduced the prices of Brent crude and have improved the rupee-dollar exchange rate, this joy is not likely to last long. Iran is one of the only countries where we buy our oil in rupees against dollars in the case of UAE and also the US has not assured us with any energy security for that matter. This reaction by the government to threats by the US is like an axe to our own foot. The rupee value can depreciate against the dollar any moment another economic crisis comes and considering the situation of high fuel prices in our country it won't do us any good by cutting off our ties with Iran. 

Our relations with Iran do not encompass just our oil dealings but also after the sanctions kick in, India's $500 million investment in the Chabahar port and a $2 billion plan for a railway line to circumvent Pakistan and reach Afghanistan and Central Asia. The port will cut transport costs/time for Indian goods by a third. The port and the railway lines will also ramp up trade among India, Afghanistan, and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with two countries. All the effort that was put into this will go into drain and our relations with Iran will become estranged and derail India's plans to improve regional connectivity. Also in a draft of our National Security Policy suggested by Ex- Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran he stressed the importance of having relations with Iran where they can provide us with Energy security in situations that may be perilous to us.

The fear of the US imposing sanctions if their requests aren't met, must not deter us from achieving our objectives. Overall if the US presses on with the sanctions, it would be a big failure of Indian diplomacy. And even though if the sanctions come through as indicated, it won't be a "victory" as told to us but will signify our acceptance with the sanctions.

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