The US-Israel war against Iran is not a distant war. It is in West Asia neighbouring the Indian sub-continent. Millions of Indians live and work in the region. Millions of Indian Shia Muslims have a strong bond with the people of Iran. India has traditionally claimed a long and historical relationship with Iran. Over the years, India has also claimed closer trade and economic relations with Iran — an example is the development of Chabahar port. Those claims have frayed under the BJP government. One of the reasons is the close friendship between the prime minister of Israel, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, and the prime minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi.

In the good old days, India would have been the most sought-after peacemaker in the case of a conflict. This time, however, since the war started on February 28, 2026, both the US and Israel have studiously avoided India. It is Iran that has maintained a semblance of ‘briefing’ India from time to time. India has been partial to Israel — the latest episode is the Indian veto of the BRICS countries’ draft resolution critical of Israel. Nevertheless, the US-Israel axis has kept India ‘out’ and, instead, courted Pakistan as the intermediary.

India can no longer pretend that the West Asian war has not affected the country. It has damaged the economies of most........

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