The talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Tehran,were constricted by the currents in global politics. Unsurprisingly,they failed to yield significant results. Though Iran has acquired a larger-than-life dimension in Indias foreign policy debate because of the unending public expression of US concerns and Delhis own posturing on the importance of the engagement with Iran for domestic political purposes the substance of this relationship has always been less than what meets the eye. For all the talk,the bilateral engagement has been quite limited. Undeniably,Iran has been an important source of energy,supplying nearly 15 per cent of Indias requirements at one point of time,but pressure from the US and Europe has compelled India to start reducing oil imports. Having already fallen below 10 per cent of Indias total crude imports,the oil business with Iran will be increasingly constrained in future. Delhi,nevertheless,is right to point to the importance of Iran for Indias Afghan policy,especially in gaining access to Afghanistan. That is why India is interested in the Chabahar port construction and gaining transit rights to Afghanistan. But these remain to be negotiated,and it is not clear how open Iran is for genuine transit. Moreover,Delhi could easily make the mistake of overestimating the convergence of political interests with Tehran,whose attitude towards the Hamid Karzai government has begun to change after Kabul signed the strategic partnership agreement with Washington that came into effect early last month. Even as Delhi would like to strengthen the Karzai administration,Tehran might be headed in a different direction. Iran is going through a profoundly difficult phase in its political evolution. The revolutionary regime is at odds with the West and with many of its Arab neighbours. Its economy,reeling from sanctions,is besieged. Significantly,India has its own issues the attack on an Israeli diplomat,not far from the PMs residence,is of great concern to Delhi and the Indian government must continue to press Tehran for full cooperation in the investigation. Overall,until Iran is more at peace with itself,and with its region and beyond,the possibilities for a productive cooperation between Delhi and Tehran will remain limited.
