India and Iran have shared a rich history of civilisational ties for many centuries. The close historical relations were, however, ruined by the British rule and the subsequent loss of contiguity owing to the creation of Pakistan. Iran's alliance with the Western bloc and India's adherence to the principles of non-alignment, albeit with leanings towards the Soviet Union, were the major determinants of Indo-Iranian bilateral relations until 1979. Pakistan, and its impression on the successive Iranian regimes, also played a major role in this relationship.

• Mushtaq Hussain
• November 2012
• Strategic Analysis

One of the most difficult tasks facing the foreign policy makers in India is the requirement to balance the relations with Iran while enhancing proximity with the United States. This invariably raises questions over the importance of Iran. An ancient civilisation, Iran is located at the crucial junction of South Asia and the Middle East. It also links the Central Asian Republics and the Caucasus region to the Arabian Sea. Historically, it has influenced its neighbours, irrespective of the type of government in power.

• Alok Bansal
• November 2012
• Strategic Analysis

Recently, we have witnessed an unprecedented series of political events in the Middle East and North Africa after a young man from Tunisia had his vegetables confiscated by the police. In retaliation, the young man set himself on fire, which initiated inextinguishable flames of protests and demonstrations demanding a more humane world for everyone. Protests and strikes driven by everyday people continued to sweep across the tightly controlled North African states. However, not everybody treated these unrests as a deep, socially rooted problem in society.

• Necati Anaz
• September 2012
• Strategic Analysis

The recent wind of ‘popular uprisings’ blowing across North Africa, most notably Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Libya, is monumental and unprecedented. Indeed, the world was taken aback by these uprisings. Despite notable contextual variations in the triggers and accelerators of the uprisings, which largely account for the divergent trajectories and outcomes, a common denominator seems to be the all-pervasive legitimacy crisis, or better still, the negative legitimacy, in these countries.

• J. Shola Omotola
• September 2012
• Strategic Analysis

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is Iran's most powerful security and military organisation, responsible for the protection and survival of the regime. Over time, the IRGC has attained a position of dominance vis-à-vis the regular army (Artesh). In due course, the Guards have also been transformed into a leading political and economic actor. The major political role of the IRGC started with the election of the reformist presidency. However, the Guards' involvement in the Iranian economy began during Rafsanjani's presidency.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• July 2012
• Strategic Analysis

The India–Afghanistan relationship is not a simple bilateral engagement. India's Afghan policy is driven by, and is dependent on, many extraneous factors such as India's troubled relationship with Pakistan, its search for a land transit to Central Asia through Iran and Afghanistan and its concerns regarding use of Afghan territory by Pakistan to the detriment of Indian interests. Given the geographical constraints, India has relied on Iran for land access to Afghanistan. This has been complicated by Iran–US relations —the two countries with whom India shares common interests.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• July 2012
• Strategic Analysis

In the two decades since the end of the Cold War, the Islamic Republic of Iran has emerged as one of the two most debated, contested and commented upon foreign policy issues in India. The other has been the US. The US has remained the pre-eminent global player, following the disintegration and demise of the USSR. Despite its preference for multi-polarity, India, like many other countries, had to recognise the new US-dominated world order and calibrate a policy that was radically different from the one it followed during the Cold War era.

• P. R. Kumaraswamy
• November 2012
• Strategic Analysis

The latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran's alleged nuclear weapons programme, released on November 8, 2011, has effectively raised the global threat level. The agency faced the daunting challenge of making a judgement on how far Iran's nuclear programme has advanced and its potential for weaponisation on the basis of suggestive but dated, inconclusive and possibly fake evidence (hundreds of pages of evidence have been sourced to one laptop of unproven provenance given to the IAEA by a Western intelligence agency).

• Ramesh Thakur
• March 2012
• Strategic Analysis

India's foreign policy interactions with Israel are marked by a political discreetness which is in contrast to its prominent political engagement with the Palestinians and countries of the Arab world. India plays down its robust defence engagement with Israel, censures Israeli policies regarding the Palestinians, supports Palestinian-related resolutions at multi-lateral forums like the UN, differs strongly from Israeli policy on issues such as Iran's nuclear programme while being opposed to the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons capability.

• S. Samuel C. Rajiv
• January 2012
• Strategic Analysis

There has been an increasing assertion of the velayat-e-faqih in Iranian politics in recent years. This has led to tensions between them and the presidential office in Iran. Against this backdrop, this article seeks to analyse the constitutional position of the velayat-e-faqih and how it has interacted with other institutions to shape Iranian foreign policy. The article critically analyses the relationship between the velayat-e-faqih and different popularly elected presidents.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• January 2012
• Strategic Analysis

The Israel-Hamas clash diminishes prospects for the revival of the peace process and strengthens Hamas’ position as the preeminent Palestinian faction.

• Md. Muddassir Quamar
• May 25, 2021
• Comment

The talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia mediated by Iraq may help in the de-escalation of regional tensions.

• Prasanta Kumar Pradhan
• May 25, 2021
• Comment

The attack on former Maldivian President and current Speaker of the Majlis, Mohammad Nasheed, on May 6, 2021 has brought to attention the country’s tenuous political stability, compounded by the problem of Islamist radicalisation.

• Adil Rasheed
• May 20, 2021
• Issue Brief

The growing ties between China and Iran can have challenges for India’s relations with Iran and interests in the Persian Gulf region. Nonetheless, it is unlikely to seriously affect India-Iran bilateral ties that remain robust and have withstood challenges earlier.

• Md. Muddassir Quamar , Lakshmi Priya
• April 30, 2021
• Issue Brief

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Mauritius on February 22-23, 2021 strengthens India’s partnership with the key Indian Ocean island country across the economic, health and security spheres.

• Ruchita Beri
• March 30, 2021
• Comment

Even as he continues to work towards reviving the Ottoman glory and ‘Ittihad-I Islam' (‘Unity of Islam’), there are significant limitations in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pursuing his Islamist approach to statecraft abroad.

• Kushal Agrawal
• March 17, 2021
• Issue Brief

Sadyr Japarov was sworn in as the President of the Kyrgyz Republic on January 28, 2021, after months of political upheaval.

• Aditi Gupta
• February 16, 2021
• Comment

Even as Kazakhstan is making slow but steady progress towards further democratisation and openness of its political system, jostling by elites to secure their positions ahead of the ultimate exit of first President Nursultan Nazarbayev from the political scene, is set to grow.

• Ashok Sajjanhar
• January 22, 2021
• Comment

India and the GCC countries should further strengthen cooperation in the fields of healthcare, education, defence and niche areas like space exploration, artificial intelligence, cyber security, bioinformatics, and renewable energy.

• Md. Muddassir Quamar
• January 15, 2021
• Issue Brief

Even as the Al-Ula summit has set a positive tone for the restoration of unity in the GCC, a high level of commitment is required by all parties to bridge the trust deficit.

• Prasanta Kumar Pradhan
• January 12, 2021
• Comment