“What does Iran bring to the table as mediator, nothing,” said a senior former diplomat when queried about reports that Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, will be in Delhi on Thursday on a mediation mission vis a vis Pakistan.
Aragchi had met his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Monday and was quoted by Reuters as saying “We seek de-escalation and urge all parties to exercise restraint and avoid increasing tensions.”
On X Aragchi posted “Tehran is ready to use its good offices in Islamabad and Delhi to forge greater understanding at this difficult time, in line with the spirit taught by the Persian poet Saadi.”
But as the former diplomat pointed out, Iran’s ties with Pakistan are hardly “hunky dory”: Iran has issues with what it claims as Pakistani support for the Sunni extremist Jundullah terrorist group operating in Iranian Balochistan. Last year the two sides had exchanged gunfire and missiles before swiftly de-escalating.
“Iran and Pakistan don’t see eye to eye on the latter’s treatment of its Shia minority, and there are differences over Afghanistan,” he underscored. “India and Iran have far greater convergences and this would be a good time to revisit their differences with Pakistan.”
“The fact is Pakistan is not a good neighbour to either India, Afghanistan or Iran. So I doubt if discussion will be on mediation but rather on shared worries. We will read the laundry list to Iran of how Pakistan has given them grief. We may ask them to help us in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) where they back Pakistan on Kashmir.”
The OIC resolution on the Pahalgam attack, said India’s “unfounded allegations against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan” are a key factor inflaming tensions in the region. Could Iran use its clout in the OIC to ensure future resolutions are more balanced?
Iran’s “Look East” policy has New Delhi at the front and centre, but Tehran may not wish to be seen backing India against Islamic Pakistan. Then again, India’s Iran policy has been heavily conditioned by US policy to the Islamic regime, a major sore point.
Aragchi’s visit will see the convening of the India-Iran joint commission, which means the focus will be on the bilateral relationship including the use of the Beheshti terminal of Chahbahar port, now being operated by an Indian company.
An Afghan delegation was recently in Tehran where they reiterated their preference for Chahbahar port as compared to Karachi port.
The closure of the India Pakistan border for all trade has hit Afghan exports of dried fruits to India via the Attari-Wagah border. This is then an opportunity to divert such trade via Chahbahar and readers may recall the 2018 trilateral MoU India, Afghanistan and Iran signed on the use of the port.
Iran, for its part, is keen that India resume buying crude oil, but given US sanctions this would be difficult. In February, the US Treasury Department had sanctioned four Indian companies, alleging they had shipped tens of millions of dollars of Iranian crude to India in violation of sanctions.
India is therefore expected to be non-committal about buying Iranian oil, but there will be much other ground for the two sides to cover, to keep the conversation and the relationship on even keel.
