India is once again finding itself in a paradox of sorts with the war in Iran nearing almost a month ransacking the global energy landscape even as the world is fast approaching another potential financial meltdown. This year India will not only be hosting the BRICS Summit even as it assumed the chairmanship of the grouping in January this year, New Delhi is also expected to organise a meeting of the Quad, consisting of the United States, Japan and Australia, after it got delayed last year owing to heightened diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Washington DC.

The situation today is akin to September 2023, when India, being the G-20 Chair, hosted the Summit meeting and in the background the Russia-Ukraine war was raging. New Delhi, which did not take a clear position at that time also, faced extreme difficulties in bringing all the member countries together and get the joint communiqué signed. However, today India is finding itself in a far more complex situation even as New Delhi has chosen to side with the United States and Israel while calling out Iran for launching attacks on the Gulf countries that threatens the lives of nearly 10 million Indians living in West Asia.

However, the bilateral relationship between India and Iran, albeit under duress, continues to remain steady with Tehran allowing New Delhi to use the Strait of Hormuz, which has become the epicentre of sorts of the ongoing conflict as the narrow shipping lane acts as the only sea passage from the oil-rich Persian Gulf to the open ocean. The area is currently experiencing a severe geopolitical and economic crisis. Iran has imposed a de facto blockade on the strait thereby effectively closing it to most commercial traffic even as Tehran has begun........

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