Nitin Khadse asked: How will the deal on Iran's nuclear programme affect America's relations with other powers in West Asia, and what is in Indian interest?

Gulshan Dietl replies: The United States has nourished two “special relationships” in West Asia - that is, with Israel and Saudi Arabia. Both of them are adversaries of Iran. The November 24, 2013 Interim Agreement between Iran and the P5+1 major powers (5 Permanent Members of the UN Security Council + Germany) has resulted in a relegitimation of Iran in the global community and, more significantly, in an improvement in the US-Iran relations. Israel and Saudi Arabia, in the circumstances, are alarmed at the future prospects of this development. The Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has called the agreement a “historic mistake” and has kept up the threat of launching a unilateral attack against Iran if the Israeli security is threatened. Saudis have cautiously welcomed the agreement, though their concerns about an enhanced Iranian influence in the region and competition in the global energy market are serious.

In the aftermath of the nuclear deal, the US Secretary of Defence, Chuck Hagel, acknowledged the anxieties of the Gulf states regarding the American “intentions, strategy and commitment” to the region and sought to reassure them that the US would continue to improve its own presence and bolster the regional empowerment in security and defence. Secretary of State John Kerry, similarly, indulged into a highly demonstrative gesture during his visit to Israel when the missile defence organisations of the US and Israel jointly test-fired Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system. The Iran nuclear deal has impacted the US special relationships with Israel and Saudi Arabia and there are sustained moves on all sides to mend the damage.

The Iran deal is certainly in our interest and we have welcomed the same. The sanctions on oil, shipping and banking are not yet lifted. Therefore, there will not be an immediate expansion in the Indo-Iran trade ties. In the longer run, the Indian import of Iranian oil is slated to go up; exploration in the gas fields allotted to India will begin; and the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline may yet see the light of the day after an inordinate hibernation.