Modi Calls Iranian President, Condemns Infrastructure Attacks and Urges Ship Lane Safety
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.
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.
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).
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