No Balancing Act

The India-Iran relationship stretches back millennia

- By Ashlin Mathew

THERE'S always a measure of honesty in India-Iran ties, occasional friction, but the underlying intent is to remain friends. Though a joint Israeli-US strike on Iran led to the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, India has not yet condemned it. Neither has it expressed solidarity with Iran over the breach of its territorial integrity. On February 28, 2026, when the war began, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi. Four days later, after criticism from the Congress party, the Indian government sent Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to sign the condolence book at the Iranian embassy.

The second call to Araghchi came after his response to the sinking of frigate IRIS Dena, torpedoed by a US submarine in Sri Lanka's Extended Economic Zone (EEZ) off Galle on March 5 while it was returning from the Milan 2026 exercises, which it had attended at India's invitation. The Indian Navy's statement focused solely on humanitarian search-and-rescue efforts, avoiding any mention of the US strike.

So far, India's response to the US-Israel war on Iran has been a statement expressing "deep concern" alongside calls for dialogue, restraint, and respect for all states' sovereignty; and calls by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Arab leaders and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he "strongly condemned" the attacks.