The rise and fall of India-Iran ties

Conventionally, Iran had been important from an energy security point of view. The import of Iranian oil in India was so huge that Indian refineries were built in a manner especially to refine Iranian crude oil. Our relations with Iran were not beyond oil transactions in the cold war era.

In the beginning, Iran and India mainly transacted for oil. But this oil trade was so huge that Iran alone fulfilled 90% of India’s crude oil demand.

Since the 1990s, the importance of Iran is more strategic. The ‘Tehran Declaration’ of 2001 marks the beginning of the ‘strategic partnership’ between India and Iran against the Taliban. The ‘Delhi Declaration in 2003 laid down the roadmap for the IPI gas pipeline and India’s participation in INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) 

Our relations with Iran went way beyond oil transactions post the cold war era. Iran became important from security point of view for India. The two were fighting together against a common enemy-the Taliban. The ‘Tehran Declaration’ of 2001 marks the beginning of the ‘strategic partnership’ between India and Iran against the Taliban.

Then, the ‘Delhi Declaration in 2003 laid down the roadmap for the IPI gas pipeline and India’s participation in INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor).

After the USA became wary of the Delhi-Tehran axis, it came up with the lucrative offer of a civil nuclear deal with India and side-lining of Iran. Since then, relations with Iran started developing a crack-line. India also began to diversify its oil imports under US pressure.