NEW DELHI: India is stepping up diplomatic engagement with Iran to restore shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, positioning dialogue with Tehran as an alternative to the military approach advocated by US president Donald Trump.New Delhi has hailed its direct talks with Iranian authorities as the most effective way to restart tanker traffic through the vital energy corridor, even as Trump has called on countries including China, France and the UK to send “warships” to help the US force open the waterway.
The call for naval deployments comes as governments hit by surging energy prices following Tehran’s closure of the strait weigh their options — from diplomatic engagement with Iran to military involvement that could pull them deeper into the spiralling Middle East conflict.
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Do you believe India’s diplomatic approach with Iran will effectively restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz?
Follow for live updates on Iran warIndia, however, appears to be betting on diplomacy.External affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said India’s direct talks with Iranian authorities have already delivered results, after two Indian-flagged gas tankers were allowed to pass through the vital shipping corridor over the weekend.The breakthrough came after a series of conversations between New Delhi and Tehran amid rising tensions in West Asia following US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Iran has since tightened control over the narrow waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments normally transit.“I am at the moment engaged in talking to them and my talking has yielded some results,” Jaishankar told the Financial Times in an interview, adding that India would continue the diplomatic channel as long as it remains effective.
Diplomacy over deployment
After initially remaining cautious in its response to US and Israeli strikes on Iran, New Delhi has intensified outreach to Tehran as the crisis deepens and global energy markets grow increasingly volatile. The urgency is particularly acute for India, which imports nearly 90% of its crude oil and is the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas.At the same time, India is carefully managing its ties with Washington, one of its closest strategic and economic partners. The US remains India’s largest export market, and the two countries are currently negotiating a trade deal to lower tariffs, even as Washington recently eased pressure on New Delhi over purchases of Russian oil.The situation has forced India into a delicate diplomatic balancing act — maintaining engagement with Tehran to protect its energy security while preserving its broader partnership with the United States.“From India’s perspective, it is better that we reason, co-ordinate and get a solution,” Jaishankar said, suggesting that diplomacy could help ease tensions and restore maritime traffic.Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has indicated Tehran is open to discussions with countries seeking safe passage for their vessels — an opening that India has quickly moved to leverage.
Every ship movement is being inidvidually negotiated
Jaishankar emphasised that the arrangement and the relationship between the two countries was not based on concessions.“It’s not an exchange issue,” he said. “India and Iran have a relationship, and that history is the basis on which I engaged.”However, there is no blanket deal covering all Indian ships. Each transit, he said, is being negotiated individually. “Every ship movement is an individual happening,” Jaishankar said, noting that many Indian vessels remain in the region and discussions are continuing.India’s outreach has included multiple conversations between Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart, as well as a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian. The diplomatic push comes as India faces growing economic pressure from the crisis. Rising oil prices and disrupted shipping routes have already rattled markets and threatened supply chains.
A delicate balancing act
Analysts say India’s engagement reflects an effort to balance its strategic partnership with Washington while maintaining working ties with Tehran.“It indicates the diplomacy is working,” Bloomberg quoted Nitin Pai of the Takshashila Institution as saying. He noted that New Delhi is trying to hedge between competing geopolitical alignments.The crisis is also testing India’s diplomacy in multilateral forums such as BRICS, which India chairs this year and counts Iran among its members.Tehran has pushed the group to condemn US and Israeli strikes, but reaching consensus could prove difficult as the expanded bloc also includes Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.For now, India appears focused on keeping channels open with all sides — using its ties with Tehran to keep energy supplies moving while avoiding deeper entanglement in the widening conflict.
