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Mint Explainer: How the Iran-Israel conflict impacts India
Summary
A conflict between the two nations threatens regional stability, which in turn threatens India’s need for investments and energy imports from West Asia.NEW DELHI : As conflict between Israel and Iran heats up, India is among the countries most affected. India has deep equities in the region: a large diaspora, strong economic partners, and a growing strategy role. But the prospect of a large-scale conflict hurts that. Mint examines the situation.
What is the background to the Israel-Iran conflict?
On 1 April, an attack on an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria led to the deaths of several senior Iranian military commanders. Iran blamed Israel for carrying out the airstrike on the building and threatened retaliation.
Israel disputed Iran’s characterization of events, but stated that it had completed a defence review and was ready to defend itself. This sparked fears of conflict between these two rivals. In response, a number of countries, including India, issued travel advisories warning citizens against visiting Iran and Israel. America, in particular, sent warships to the region in an effort to deter Iran from attacking Israel.
What happened afterwards?
In the early hours of Sunday, Iran launched a concerted missile and drone attack against Israel. According to the Israeli military, around 300 drones and missiles were fired. Some of these projectiles were also fired from Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, according to America’s defence department.
Israel, with the support of the US and the UK, took down a number of the weapons fired, minimising casualties. Senior Iranian military figures have publicly warned Israel against retaliation. Meanwhile, the Israeli war cabinet is expected to meet today to consider the country’s response.
What has India’s response been?
After the attack on the Iranian diplomatic building on 1 April, India expressed its concern about the conflict. “India is distressed at the escalating tensions in West Asia, and their potential to fuel further violence and instability. We urge all parties to avoid actions that go against commonly accepted principles and norms of international law," India’s foreign ministry spokesperson urged in April. The country has also been in touch with other nations including the UK on the matter.
How does the conflict impact India?
India has a strong interest in seeing the conflict settle down. For one, it has built strong strategic ties with both Israel and Iran. Since the 7 October terror attacks on Israel by Hamas, India has been forced to balance its stance between Israel and many of its partners in the Arab world.
India would prefer to avoid a similar situation with Israel and Iran. A conflict between the two nations threatens regional stability, which in turn threatens India’s need for investments and energy imports from West Asia.
Such instability can leave a large impact on India’s economy, as the Houthi attacks on the vital Red Sea shipping route have demonstrated. India also has a large diaspora in Israel and the wider region, which it would like to protect from a broader conflict.
