Israel-Iran Escalation Tests India’s Strategic Tightrope

India’s delicate diplomacy in West Asia has enabled it to maintain strong ties with both Israel and the Arab world.

In a region perpetually on the boil, India’s ability to maintain robust ties with both Israel and the Arab world has long been one of the understated successes of its foreign policy. At a time when ideological loyalty often outweighs pragmatism, New Delhi is walking a tightrope with uncommon poise by courting Tel Aviv’s strategic heft even while nurturing deep economic and cultural connections with Tehran, Riyadh and other Arab capitals.

This delicate quadrille began in earnest in 1977, when the Janata Party government led by Prime Minister Morarji Desai and with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as External Affairs Minister, cracked the diplomatic ice with Israel. Though India did not open a full embassy in Tel Aviv until 1992, that early outreach laid the foundation for a relationship built on security, technology and mutual realpolitik. Vajpayee, known for his right-wing convictions and rhetorical flair, surprised many by reaching out not only to Israel but also to the Arab world, establishing that ideological rigidity need not preclude diplomatic dexterity.

A famous cartoon in the Marathi weekly Marmik from that period captured the moment’s irony. It showed Vajpayee clad in traditional Arab attire, greeting his hosts with the words “Pahchana kya?” (“Do you recognise me?”) - a nod to how out of place he might have seemed, and how far Indian diplomacy had come.

Since then, India’s ties with Israel have grown remarkably close, particularly on matters of defence and counterterrorism. During the fraught years of the Kashmir insurgency in the 1990s, Israel repeatedly backed India’s position in international forums, including at the United Nations. Analysts say that at one point, Tel Aviv even offered to carry out a pre-emptive strike on Pakistan’s nuclear facility at Kahuta so long as India provided mid-air refuelling for its bombers. India, mindful of the regional implications, politely declined. But the episode illustrates the depth of trust between the two countries.

India’s refusal to overtly support Israel in international forums, often abstaining on UN resolutions condemning it, has never seriously impaired bilateral ties. Instead, strategic cooperation has deepened. Israel has become one of India’s key defence suppliers, providing an array of sophisticated weaponry - from precision-guided munitions and anti-tank missiles to night vision equipment and thermal imaging sensors. Perhaps more crucially, Israel has shared vital intelligence and counterterrorism expertise, helping Indian security forces tackle insurgencies in Kashmir and beyond.

Yet even as Israel has become a cornerstone of India’s defence strategy, New Delhi has preserved and even strengthened its ties with the Arab world. Trade and employment have long underpinned these relationships. Gulf nations, especially Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, have employed millions of Indian workers whose remittances contribute significantly to India’s foreign exchange reserves. In return, India exports a cornucopia of goods, including agricultural produce, garments and meat, and continues to import crude oil and natural gas.

Iran, despite its complicated relationship with the West and frequent sanctions, has also been a key partner. At one point, it accounted for the largest share of India’s oil imports. But beyond hydrocarbons, Iran became crucial to India’s regional strategy when China began developing Gwadar port in Pakistan - a project that gave Beijing a strategic foothold on the Arabian Sea. In response, India partnered with Tehran to build Chabahar port on Iran’s southern coast, opening a vital trade and transit route to Afghanistan and Central Asia that bypasses Pakistan entirely.

That collaboration bore fruit in 2017 when India sent its first major shipment of wheat to Afghanistan via Chabahar and Iran’s road network - an act of regional diplomacy made possible only because Pakistan denied overland access through its territory. While Chabahar has not advanced at the pace India once hoped, it remains a powerful symbol of what pragmatic diplomacy can achieve even amid geopolitical headwinds.

India’s West Asia strategy is tinged with historical irony. The Jewish state of Israel emerged after World War II as a response to the horrors of the Holocaust, with the West carving out territory from what was then British Mandate Palestine. Arab states, feeling betrayed by this division of land, launched a series of wars to destroy the nascent state. The animosity between Israel and the Muslim world has festered for over seven decades, with peace agreements few and fragile.

Yet India, a country with the world’s third-largest Muslim population and a long-standing tradition of sheltering Jewish communities has managed to engage both sides without alienating either. Its ability to straddle these rivalries is not just a testament to bureaucratic skill but to a larger geopolitical vision rooted in autonomy and balance.

This balancing act will be tested as conflicts escalate across West Asia. India must continue navigating a minefield of competing allegiances and shifting alliances. Its close defence partnership with Israel may raise eyebrows in Tehran or Riyadh; its warm ties with Iran may prompt concern in Washington or Jerusalem. Yet if the past four decades are any guide, India will continue to walk this tightrope with careful steps and steady nerve.

In an era when global diplomacy is increasingly polarised, India’s ability to cultivate seemingly contradictory friendships offers a rare case study in the art of coexistence. Far from being torn between the Star of David and the Crescent, India has thus far managed to embrace both.