Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

Indo-Iranian Chabahar Port ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Amirhossein Nikroo) Source- Eurasia Review Author- Mehraveh Kharazmi Iran and India are going through a new stage in their bilateral relations. The two countries, which have maintained cordial relations characterized by low tension in the past centuries, are now opening a new chapter, whose impact can even transcend the limits of their bilateral ties. Iran’s relations with India, which had become restricted to import of non-essential goods from India in return for selling Iran’s crude to Indian oil companies due to anti-Iran sanctions and because Tehran did not have much of an option, have now entered a totally different phase. This is true because following the endorsement and implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of countries, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran has now more options for the establishment of political and economic relations with various coun

Iranian foreign minister with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ( Image credits- Narendra Modi Official) Source- Eurasia Review Author- Shebonti Ray Dadwal / IDSA As the P5+1 prepares to roll back the nuclear-related sanctions on Iran in accordance with the July 2015 accord, the question that springs to mind is whether this will bring about a revival of energy ties with India. More pertinently, once sanctions are rolled back, which way will Iran go? Will Tehran prefer to focus on the more lucrative European energy market, particularly market for natural gas, or will it focus on Asia? Undoubtedly, Iran will be looking at its oil to bring in the much-needed revenue to its cash-starved economy; however, it is Iran’s potential as a gas supplier that is likely to play a bigger role in realising its ambition of becoming a regional as well as geopolitical power, based to large extent on its energy reserves. Many European countries, including the European Commission, desperate to

Chabahar Port, Iran ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Amirhossein Nikroo) Source- Russia& India Report Author- Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra The southeastern Iranian port Chabahar is a crucial link in the INSTC. India signed an agreement with Iran in May 2015 to develop this port. The multimodal transport link, when operationalized, will galvanise Eurasian trade. India’s Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari visited Tehran to give concrete shape to the Chabahar development project, conceived over a decade ago but stalled due to international sanctions on Iran. With the sanctions girdle set to loosen, India’s involvement in developing the port will be crucial. Chabahar will be connected to Milak, close to the Afghan border, and into Afghanistan through the Indian built Zaranj-Delaram highway. This section is part of the broader INSTC project that links Eurasian nations, from Russia in the north to India in the south, through Central Asia. The corridor can fur

Image credits- Flickr / MEA Official gallery, Govt of India Source- The Diplomat Author- Vinay Kaura The strategic map of Iran’s immediate neighborhood will change dramatically following the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1. Given the tremendous geostrategic stakes involved, Iran has already begun to explore greater opportunities for economic and security cooperation in the region. This has implications for both India and Pakistan, which are tied to Iran strategically but bitterly opposed to each other. Per the realist prescription of international relations, survival in an anarchic world requires all states to adopt certain rational behavior, such as power maximization and balancing strategies. Depending to a large extent on their worldviews, all state leaders translate their perceptions of locational advantages and vulnerabilities into geopolitical strategies. Revolutionary rhetoric apart, Iranian decision-makers have conducted their foreign policy, m

Image source- Flickr / Credits- MEA Official photo gallery, Government of India Source- The Diplomat Author- Micha'el Tanchum Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Turkmenistan as part of his tour of the five Central Asian republics was a critical opportunity for New Delhi to advance the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan India pipeline (TAPI), slated to transport to million cubic meters per day of natural gas to India, helping the world’s fastest growing major economy meet its own skyrocketing demand. However, instead of announcing a major Indian initiative to expedite the selection of TAPI’s consortium leader, the hurdle that has stymied TAPI’s implementation, Modi suggested that an alternative land-sea route via Iran for transporting Turkmen gas should also be considered. Modi’s high profile plug for an Iran-Oman-India subsea pipeline by proposing its use for Turkmen gas exports was a savvy diplomatic gesture aimed at Beijing’s April 2015 agreeme

Image credits- Flickr / MEA Official gallery Source- The Diplomat Author- Rohan Joshi The framework agreement reached between Iran and the United States, along with other world powers could have far-ranging implications on Middle Eastern and South Asian geopolitics. Under the deal, Iran has agreed to limit uranium enrichment to only one facility (Natanz), while agreeing to compromises on two other facilities; it consented to redesign the plutonium heavy-water reactor in Arak in a manner that would prevent it from producing weapons-grade usable fuel, and agreed to convert the Fordo uranium enrichment site into a facility for advanced nuclear research and the production of medical isotopes. Significantly, the Iranians have also agreed to cut the number of centrifuges enriching uranium from 19,000 to about 6,000 and conceded to limiting enrichment to only 3.67 percent (i.e., not produce weapons-grade uranium). Iran’s breakout timeline – the time that it would take to ac

Chabahar Port, Iran ( Image credits- Flickr/ Author- Afshin Iranpour) Source- The Diplomat Author- Hrishabh Sandilya Late in October, the Indian cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, made a final decision to support the Iranian Chabahar port project on the shores of the Arabian Sea. Although the news of this decision was lost to a world focused on elections and the Ebola pandemic, it remains a significant development in the context of Asian security, and embodies a confident new direction in Indian foreign policy. It also provides the West with a trustworthy partner to help with negotiations with Iran. The much-touted port project is located in Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran’s restive border province that abuts Pakistan in the south-east of the country. Not even a hundred kilometers separate Chabahar from Gwadar, another mega port project located in Pakistan’s Baluchistan region, which was completed in 2006 with Chinese support. The Pakistani government was keen

Image credits- Wikimedia commons India's Narendra Modi government has decided to get moving on the long-delayed construction of strategically critical Chabahar port in Iran that would give India easier access to Afghanistan and Central Asia through a shorter route that would also mean being able to avoid Karachi in neighbouring Pakistan.   The external affairs ministry has circulated a fresh Cabinet note on the project, a senior government official privy to the development told ET.   "The proposal is expected to be taken up shortly," the official said, requesting anonymity.   Modi has declared his keenness to deepen ties with neighbours and the port is expected to play an important role in the economic reconstruction and development of Afghanistan.   The project involves a capital expenditure of about Rs 550 crore. It will be implemented by a special purpose vehicle formed by Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla Port Trust along with a private pla