Iran Sanctions and India: Navigating the Road Blocks

The Iranian nuclear imbroglio has been one regional strategic issue of recent times that has had the most wide-ranging consequences. The monograph examines the UNSC, the US, as well as EU sanctions targeting Iran in the aftermath of 2002 as a result of concerns emanating from its nuclear efforts. While India expressed its principled opposition to the enactment of unilateral sanctions, it had to however navigate these roadblocks once they were enacted. India increased its energy imports from other sources in West Asia, Africa and even Latin America to offset reductions from Iran. In the aftermath of the July 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), India-Iran interactions have been on the upward trajectory, capped by the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2016. While energy imports as well as Indian investments in Iran’s energy sector would continue to be the prime facets of the relationship, the coming to fruition of connectivity projects like Chahbahar would imbibe the relationship with even more strategic gravitas.

About the Author

S. Samuel C. Rajiv is Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. Prior to joining IDSA in 2006, he was a Visiting Scholar at the BESA Centre for Strategic Studies, Israel from 2005-06 and worked at the book project India’s National Security Annual Review from 2002-05. His recent publications include Indian Responses to Israel’s Gaza Operations (BESA Centre, May 2016) and ‘Politicised Safeguards: Iran-IAEA Contentions, Drivers, Policy Implications’, Strategic Analysis (IDSA/Routledge, September 2014), among others.