NSA Ajit Doval’s recent conversation with his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani comes at a critical juncture in West Asia’s evolving strategic environment and highlights India’s emphasis on maintaining balanced relations with key regional players despite ongoing geopolitical turbulence.

The discussions reportedly covered a broad spectrum of cooperation, including trade, defence, security, and connectivity, underlining the strong foundation of India–Iran bilateral ties. Central to this dialogue was the focus on the Chabahar port, a strategic infrastructure project where India has been a lead stakeholder.

The port not only provides New Delhi with an indispensable alternative route for trade and transit to Afghanistan, particularly through the Zaranj–Delaram road constructed with Indian assistance, but also opens direct access to the vast Central Asian markets.

This connectivity is critical for India given Pakistan’s denial of direct overland access for India–Afghanistan trade as well as India’s efforts to secure reliable supply chains in the face of regional uncertainties.

India’s sustained investment in Chabahar has thus been both an economic and strategic move, aimed at enhancing its Eurasian outreach, diversifying supply routes, and strengthening partnerships with regional stakeholders that offer counterbalances to Chinese-led projects such as Gwadar under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

At a wider strategic level, India’s discussions with Iran come amid heightened tensions within West Asia, amplified by frictions in the Gulf and pressures from U.S. policies, particularly towards Tehran. 

While Western powers have focused on constraining Iran’s nuclear ambitions, India has consistently taken the position that Iran’s nuclear program must be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy, a stance designed to keep doors open with Tehran while recognising international concerns.

Reflecting this nuanced position, New Delhi has reiterated its acknowledgment of Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy while stressing adherence to global non-proliferation norms. This balanced approach also enables India to preserve its energy and connectivity interests, as Iran historically has been among India’s principal energy suppliers, though sanctions have disrupted supply flows.

Maintaining a cooperative engagement with Iran aligns with India’s long-term strategy of securing alternative energy corridors as well as ensuring regional stability, particularly given Iran’s influential role in West Asia’s strategic calculus.

Another dimension of the ongoing India–Iran dialogue is the defence and security cooperation that both sides have sought to expand. While details remain classified, such cooperation typically includes military exchanges, maritime security coordination, sharing of intelligence, and counterterrorism initiatives.

With the security dynamics of the region impacted by Afghanistan’s instability post-U.S. withdrawal, Turkish activism, Gulf rivalries, and continued extremist threats, India views Iran as a key partner in ensuring stability across both South and Central Asia. Iran’s geographic position as a land bridge into Eurasia and its control over critical southern maritime routes make such cooperation even more pertinent to India’s strategic interests.

Furthermore, as India has deepened its defence technology partnerships with Russia and increasing engagements with the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific, parallel coordination with Iran provides New Delhi with strategic depth, balancing its relationships and avoiding over-dependence on any single external partner.

Economic and trade cooperation featured prominently in Doval’s exchanges with Larijani as India is working to ramp up bilateral trade in sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals and machinery to agriculture and petrochemicals.

The resumption of oil trade, once a significant component of India–Iran economic ties before sanctions, remains a longer-term priority contingent on the evolution of Western sanctions frameworks. In the interim, India is expected to focus on non-oil trade and investments to sustain economic engagement. The facilitation offered by Chabahar to bypass logistical bottlenecks has the potential to make India a more competitive economic player in Central Asia.

It also complements India’s investments in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which links Mumbai to Russia via Iran and Central Asia, thereby integrating Chabahar into a larger Eurasian trade architecture. For Tehran, strengthening ties with India provides a crucial counterweight to growing Chinese influence under its 25-year strategic cooperation plan with Beijing and ensures diversification of partners beyond its traditional ties.

The timing of Ajit Doval’s outreach is also notable given that India has been navigating complex relations with Russia and the U.S., with the latter recently issuing renewed threats to Moscow. India’s continued diplomatic and security engagements with both Russia and Iran reflect its multipolar approach to foreign policy, emphasising autonomy, flexibility, and pursuit of strategic interests without being locked into bloc politics.

Based On TOI Report



By reinforcing cooperation with Tehran while sustaining ties with Moscow and Washington, India seeks to ensure its long-term regional access and maintain balance between energy security, connectivity, and strategic autonomy. These moves position New Delhi not only as a central player in Eurasian connectivity projects but also as a critical stakeholder in efforts to maintain dialogue-driven resolutions to regional nuclear and security challenges.