With the Wests hostility with Iran at record levels and an energy shortage of mammoth proportions how can India draw a balance-- Clearly India needs the gas line from Iran and the nuke deal is very very compromising to India. Oh well how would India choose?? Iran is a good partner for India at the immediate and local level for gas & oil and basing in Afghanistan against Pakistan–at the global level Indias friendship with Iran doesn’t play well with some big players–oh well think local act global–but always think local first–game theory suggests Iran friendship is numero uno on the list. Politics makes strange bed fellows sigh…but no gas maketh a very hungry rural India which maketh a revolt…so India cannot ignore Iran…
Re: Indian Middle East foreign policy in a bind–no permenant solution in sight
Not to mention India’s close relationship with Israel. It’ll be interesting to see how the Congress government positions the situation. But one thing to note is how big the Indian market is, and how politically active Indians are in the US.
In a recent article, the editorialist mentioned that one of the carrots that the US is offering Iran is WB backing of the Iran-India pipeline.
If the nuclear deal passes Capitol Hill, the need for a pipeline will be less pressing.