India’s US-Israel relations are testing relations with Iran

Millions of barrels of oil flow to China via the Strait of Hormuz, while India, a longtime ally of Tehran, has yet to secure safe passage for ships stranded in the vital waterway, as New Delhi’s deepening ties with the United States and Israel strain ties with Iran.

Two Indian ships carrying liquefied petroleum gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, but this does not signify a “comprehensive deal” with Tehran, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told the Financial Times on Monday.

Jaishankar also denied claims that the safe passage of the two ships was part of a quid pro quo deal with Iran, after New Delhi brought about 100 Iranian naval officers home on a special flight on Saturday, according to multiple media reports.

India, the world’s third largest oil importer and second largest consumer of liquefied petroleum gas, is facing rising energy costs and panic buying amid tight supply due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

But a growing undercurrent of tensions with Iran and a growing public perception that New Delhi is leaning toward Washington are weakening India’s ability to secure a safe route to energy supplies, experts say.

Over the past eight decades since independence, India has largely pursued a policy of ‘neutrality and engagement with all sides’. But it is now “clear” that New Delhi is leaning towards the US and Israel, KC Singh, India’s former ambassador to the UAE and Iran, told Inside India.

He added that a widely circulated image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the Indian leader’s visit to Israel last month was likely to “remain in the minds of Persians” and affect India’s influence over Iran.

In a telephone conversation between the foreign ministers of India and Iran on Friday, the Iranian government called on the BRICS member states, which is chaired by India, to condemn the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel. Analysts say that puts New Delhi, which seems comfortable aligning itself with Washington and Tel Aviv, in a bind.

“It is no coincidence that just three days before the US-Israeli attack on Iran, Prime Minister Modi addressed the Israeli parliament and was hailed as a ‘brother’ by Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Raymond E. Vickery Jr., a senior associate at the global foreign policy think tank CSIS, told CNBC in an email.

Although India is the only founding member of BRICS that has not condemned the attack on Iran or the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei during the US-Israeli military offensive on February 28, local media reported that Indian Foreign Minister Vikram Misri signed a letter of condolence at the Iranian embassy in India on March 5.

“India has accepted the US and Israeli claims that Iran is a hub of radical Islamic terrorism,” Vickery Jr. added. But he said, “India will try to salvage what it can from its relationship with Iran through calls for peace and special protection for Indian ships and people.”

Even in the midst of isolated cooperation, the dissonance between Tehran and New Delhi did not go unnoticed.

On Wednesday, India co-sponsored a resolution in the UN Security Council condemning Iran’s “terrible” attacks on Gulf Cooperation Council countries and calling for “an immediate cessation of all attacks by Tehran.” Iran rejected the resolution as “unjust and illegal” and said it did not recognize the invasion of the United States and Israel.

“I’m not saying India-Iran relations have deteriorated, but New Delhi has clearly tilted the equation in favor of the United States, Israel, and the Gulf Arab states,” Chatham House South Asia senior fellow Chietigi Vajpayee said in an email to CNBC. Vajpayee added that bilateral relations have been steadily deteriorating.

Vajpayee said New Delhi cut funding for Iran’s Chabahar port project after the US refused to extend sanctions exemption for India’s port terminal operations beyond April 2026. India also suspended purchases of Iranian crude oil following the collapse of the Iran nuclear deal under the first Trump administration.

Last week, India’s opposition leaders argued that the Modi government’s foreign policy choices were putting India’s “energy security” at risk and questioned the government’s reluctance to condemn the Iranian attack.

—CNBC’s Anniek Bao contributed to this report.