India- US Relations: Collateral Damage

India needs innovative diplomacy and deft manoeuvring to protect its interests, as the US embarks upon a collision course with its traditional rivals.

- Rekha Dixit And Pradip R. Sagar

When the Narendra Modi government decided two years ago to revive the Chabahar port project in Iran, the mood was upbeat in both countries. The US, under President Barack Obama, had agreed on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, lifting sanctions and ushering in a new era for Iran. Although, in diplomacy, a surprising turn of events is always factored in, no one had then anticipated Donald Trump. Or that the US would walk out of a deal that took several countries years to craft.

The Chabahar project was proposed during the first National Democratic Alliance regime, but with the change of government in India, and the subsequent blacklisting of Iran by the United Nations, the project went to the back burner. In recent months, though, India had made a big show of sending consignments of grain to Afghanistan through the Chabahar route, cocking a snook at Pakistan, which controlled land routes between India and Afghanistan.

Now, as August 6 (when the first set of US sanctions will snap back) approaches, New Delhi is sharpening its diplomatic tools. For, as former diplomat G. Parthasarathy said, the weeks ahead would require “very imaginative diplomacy and adept manoeuvring”. Brian Hook, director of policy planning at the US state department, recently said the US would not hesitate to take action when it sees “sanctionable activity that is consistent with our policy of economic and diplomatic isolation of Iran.’’ It isn’t just Iran, but also Russia, against which the US sanctions will come into play.