Iranian FM travels to India to upgrade ties
During a visit to New Delhi, Iran's foreign minister discussed with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi upgrading bilateral relations, including on energy trade, the Chabahar port and regional connectivity.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited New Delhi June 8-10, where he met with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national security advisor Ajit Kumar Doval. Considering that discussions were held at the highest level, it seemed like an effort to reset India-Iran ties.
Trying to put together a more broad-spectrum partnership, Amir-Abdollahian spoke about drawing up "a road map for long-term cooperation between the two countries.” Mulling over a slew of key issues like energy trade, promoting Chabahar port and extending regional connectivity, Modi expressed hope for an upgrade in bilateral ties.
Evaluating the status of India-Iran ties, a European diplomat posted in Islamabad told Al-Monitor, “Amir-Abdollahian’s New Delhi visit should be seen in the context of broader developments potentially affecting the relationship between the two countries.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said,” Despite ups and downs in past years on issues like Chabahar, the railway line connecting it to Zahedan in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province, Farzad-B gas field and India’s import of Iranian oil — mostly due to external variables [US sanctions against Iran] — Tehran and New Delhi realize there still are some areas to work on.”
