Sep 10, 2026 16:36 pm IST

Opinion | US Can Threaten, Not Dictate: What India's Iran Message Really Means

If India's Bishkek message was a signal to the US, then Pezeshkian's arrival in New Delhi for BRICS will be a defining note: that India's strategic autonomy is not up for debate

Ashok Sajjanhar Ashok Sajjanhar Columnist

Ashok Sajjanhar Columnist

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on the sidelines of the 26th SCO Summit on August 31. This was the first meeting between the two leaders after the start of the US-Israel conflict with Iran on February 28 this year, and the second after they met in Kazan, Russia, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in October 2024.

The meeting came in the wake of the threat by the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on August 24 that countries that trade with Iran will have to face secondary sanctions on their exports to the US. Prior to this, through the declaration of "Operation Economic Outcast", President Trump had indicated that countries engaging in economic activity with Iran would immediately be subjected to 25% tariff on all exports shipped to the United States. Notwithstanding these warnings, PM Modi met Pezeshkian, and soon after took to X, to say: "Met President Masoud Pezeshkian in Bishkek. Reiterated our commitment to strengthening India's long-standing friendship with Iran across diverse sectors. We want to expand and diversify our trade basket in the times to come. We had a discussion on the prevailing situation in the region. India will continue to support all efforts at ensuring peace."

Commenting on the Modi-Pezeshkian meeting, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, inter alia said, "The President has been very clear, no country should be helping Iran evade sanctions ... And if countries decide to do that, then we're going to have to sanction them too." Prior to this statement, Rubio tried to soften his remarks by saying that many countries "develop their own foreign policy and many countries around the world talk to the Iranian regime", adding that even "we've met with elements of the Iranian regime".

The Modi-Pezeshkian meeting and PM Modi's message stand out for a variety of reasons. Firstly, direct threats by the US to stop trading with Iran have had little, if any, impact on........

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