In call with Iran president, PM Modi slams infra attacks, says ship lanes must stay open
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, condemning attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure.
Modi specifically stressed that international shipping lanes must remain open and safe, reflecting India's immediate energy security concerns about Strait of Hormuz disruptions.
Iranian President Pezeshkian urged India to use its BRICS membership to help end hostilities — a direct appeal to India's multilateral leverage.
The call follows India's broader diplomatic calibration: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar held three telephone conversations with his Iranian counterpart focused on commercial shipping and energy security.
India's diplomatic engagement with Iran coexists with India's "special strategic partnership" upgrade with Israel announced during Modi's February 2026 visit — reflecting India's multi-alignment foreign policy posture.
India is the only founding BRICS member that has not formally condemned the US-Israel military strikes on Iran, positioning itself as a potential mediator rather than a partisan actor.
India's "Strategic Autonomy" and Multi-Alignment Foreign Policy
India's post-Cold War foreign policy doctrine has evolved from Non-Alignment (1947-1991) to what is now described as "strategic autonomy" or "multi-alignment" — maintaining independent relationships with competing great powers and refusing to be bound by any single alliance structure.
Key Details
- Non-Alignment Movement (NAM): India was a founding member in 1961, along with Yugoslavia, Egypt, Indonesia, and Ghana; the first NAM Summit was held in Belgrade.
- After the Cold War ended (1991), India shifted toward "strategic autonomy" — engaging the US, Russia, China, and West Asia simultaneously based on transactional interests.
- Under PM Modi, India has formalized defense partnerships with the US (LEMOA, COMCASA, BECA — the three foundational defense agreements signed 2016-2020), upgraded relations with Israel to "special strategic partnership" (February 2026), while maintaining the Russia relationship (S-400 purchase, continued oil imports).
- India's West Asia policy: simultaneous strong relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, and Palestine — supporting "two-state solution" while deepening Israel security ties.
- "Strategic autonomy" is operationalized through what MEA describes as "issue-based coalitions" rather than permanent alliances.
Modi's call simultaneously condemning infrastructure attacks (acceptable to Iran) while not condemning the US-Israel military campaign (acceptable to Washington/Tel Aviv) exemplifies this multi-alignment balancing act.
BRICS — Composition, Mandate, and India's Role
BRICS (originally Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) has expanded into a broader platform following the Johannesburg Summit in August 2023, which invited six new members. Iran formally joined BRICS in January 2024.
Key Details
- Current BRICS+ members (as of 2024): Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE (Argentina declined invitation).
- BRICS GDP collectively represents approximately 35% of global GDP (PPP terms) and 45% of global population.
- BRICS is a non-binding consultative forum — not a formal alliance with treaty obligations or a collective security arrangement.
- Key BRICS institutions: New Development Bank (NDB, headquartered Shanghai), BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA — currency swap mechanism).
- India's position within BRICS is significant: along with China, India is the only original founding member with both nuclear power status and the largest developing-country economies.
- Iran's inclusion in BRICS was itself a strategic signal — bringing a US-sanctioned country into a major multilateral forum, complicating Western pressure strategies.
- Pezeshkian's appeal to India's BRICS role reflects Iran's expectation that BRICS members will not enforce Western sanctions and may actively advocate for ceasefire at multilateral forums.
Iran explicitly invoked India's BRICS position as a lever for peace mediation — testing whether BRICS can function as a conflict-resolution platform alongside its economic mandate.
India-Iran Bilateral Relations and Chabahar Port
India-Iran bilateral relations are shaped by three intersecting interests: energy (Iran as oil/gas supplier), connectivity (Chabahar port as gateway to Central Asia), and strategic balance (Iran as counterweight to Pakistan and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan).
Key Details
- India-Iran bilateral trade: approximately $1.68 billion in FY24-25 (India exports $1.24B, imports $0.44B); significantly reduced from pre-2018 levels when India imported substantial Iranian crude.
- Chabahar Port: India signed a 10-year operational agreement in May 2024 with IRCON International (a Government of India PSU) as operator.
- Chabahar's strategic value: India's only land-sea connectivity route to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan. Linked to the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) — a multimodal route from Mumbai to St. Petersburg via Iran and Russia.
- India-Iran engagement in BRICS context: Modi met Pezeshkian at the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia (October 2024).
- US sanctions: India stopped importing Iranian crude after the US withdrew from JCPOA in 2018 and threatened secondary sanctions; the current conflict and a 30-day US OFAC waiver have reopened the debate on whether India can restart Iranian crude imports.
The Modi-Pezeshkian call reflects India's need to protect its Chabahar investment, INSTC connectivity, and the interests of 9 million Indian nationals in the Gulf — making Iran relationship maintenance a national interest imperative regardless of the India-Israel upgrade.
- India-Iran bilateral trade (FY24-25): ~$1.68 billion
- Chabahar port deal: 10-year agreement, signed May 2024; operator: IRCON International
- BRICS+ current members: 10 (Iran joined January 2024)
- BRICS share of global GDP (PPP): ~35%; global population: ~45%
- NDB (New Development Bank): established 2015, headquartered Shanghai
- India-Israel partnership upgrade: "special strategic partnership" (February 2026)
- India-US foundational defense agreements: LEMOA (2016), COMCASA (2018), BECA (2020)
- NAM founding: 1961, Belgrade Summit; India founding member
- Indian nationals in GCC: ~9 million
- India's MEA statement on West Asia: called for "restraint, no escalation, civilian safety, dialogue" — no specific condemnation of strikes