During the Mughal era, the cultural influence of Persia (Iran) was such that the language of the court was Persian. During the time of Emperor Mohammad Shah Rangeela of the same Mughal dynasty, the robber king Nadir Shah of Persia reached Delhi. The pride of the Mughals, the Peacock Throne, the world famous Kohinoor, and looted such a huge amount from the royal treasury that after returning to Persia, no taxes were collected from the people of their country for the next three years. During the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971, the regime of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran was openly with Pakistan.
Not only arms and equipment, he raised his voice in support of Pakistan on every platform. But after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, opposition to America increased in Iran. Distance with Pakistan increased on the issues of Shia-Sunni, Taliban-Afghanistan. Then Iran remained neutral during the Kargil war of 1999. But between 2017 and 2024, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made public anti-India comments on India’s internal issues—particularly Kashmir, Article 370, the Delhi riots and the Citizenship Amendment Act. On every such occasion, India’s External Affairs Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador and lodged a strong objection and opposed interference in India’s internal affairs. Read the history of Iran-India relations.
Nadir Shah’s havoc on Delhi
There were deep cultural contacts between India and Persia (Iran) during the medieval period. The language of the Mughal court was Persian. During this period, Sufi tradition and Shia religious influence spread to North India and Deccan. But during the decline of Mughal rule, it received the biggest blow from Iran (Persia). 1739 During the time of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah Rangeela, Iranian ruler Nadir Shah attacked North India. First defeated the Mughal army in Karnal and then captured Delhi.
Nadir Shah.
On March 22, 1739, Nadir Shah’s Afsharid army massacred in Delhi for more than six hours, in which approximately thirty thousand people were killed. More than ten thousand women and children were taken captive. Not only the royal treasury but entire Delhi was looted. Huge amount was collected from people. Nadir Shah took all the valuable jewelery and wealth with him to Persia, including the Peacock Throne, the world famous Kohinoor and Darya-e-Noor diamonds. This loot was so big that Nadir Shah stopped collecting taxes from his subjects in Persia for the next three years.
Open support of Pakistan during Pahlavi’s time
After independence, India’s diplomatic relations with Iran were established in 1950 during the reign of Pahlavi. By the end of the seventies, Iran was under Western and especially American influence. On the other hand, India was a pillar of the Non-Aligned Movement. This ideological distance was further visible on the issues of Kashmir and Pakistan. In the 1950s and 60s, Iran was a member of CENTO (Central Treaty Organization), in which Pakistan was also included.
This US-backed military alliance made Iran and Pakistan strategic partners. Shah Mohammad Raza Pahlavi supported Pakistan in the Indo-Pak war of 1965. Also provided fuel and military assistance. India had protested against this. On the occasion of the Bangladesh War of 1971, Iran came out more openly in support of Pakistan and in opposition to India. Along with military and other assistance, Pahlavi supported Pakistan’s position in the United Nations.
Reza Pahlavi
During this period, Iran was clearly inclined towards Pakistan. On Kashmir, he showed sympathy towards Pakistan’s viewpoint in the forums of Islamic countries. But the situation changed after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Radicalism emerged on the domestic front during the reign of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who came to power by opposing America. Opposition towards America increased and Iran appeared to be following the path of independent foreign policy. India quickly recognized the new regime immediately after the Islamic Revolution.
Restraint towards India amidst increasing distance from Pakistan
After the Islamic Revolution, Iran’s stance on the question of Kashmir was not as stable as before. There were changes in these from time to time. The main reason for this was the strain in its relations with Pakistan on the issues of Shia-Sunni and Afghanistan-Taliban. India had adopted a stance of neutrality regarding the Iran-Iraq war.
Formally, Pakistan also had the same stand. But due to the influence of Saudi Arabia and Sunni politics, the distance in Iran-Pakistan relations increased. In 1994, Pakistan tried to bring a resolution against India on the question of Kashmir in the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Iran, which had been supporting Pakistan on earlier occasions, did not support it this time. Iran, which openly supported Pakistan in the wars of 1965 and 1971, exercised restraint during the Kargil war of 1999 and did not openly support Pakistan. It is understood that he had also advised Pakistan to avoid conflict escalation.
12 percent oil import from Iran before sanctions
Till the mid-2010s, about 10-12% of India’s total oil imports were from Iran. India’s contribution in developing Iran’s Chabahar Port project is an important pillar of its strategy to reach out to Central Asia and Afghanistan. This project is very important from the point of view of increasing regional connectivity by bypassing Pakistan. The agreement was signed between Iran and other powers in 2015 during the Barack Obama administration. This gave new impetus to India-Iran energy relations. But in 2018, Donald Trump pulled America out of the agreement. After this, under the pressure of Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), India had to reduce oil imports from Iran to almost zero.
Efforts to balance strategic needs
India supported three anti-Iran resolutions between 2005 and 2009. This was the period when talks were going on on the India-US civil nuclear agreement. But in 2022, India had shown balance by abstaining from voting on a resolution related to Iran. On the other hand, India had strongly protested against some statements of the then Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei between 2017 and 2024, considering them interference in its internal affairs.
In 2017, Khamenei gave a statement in support of the allegedly oppressed Muslims of Kashmir. After India’s decision to remove Article 370 from Kashmir in 2019, Khamenei demanded a just policy for Kashmir. During the 2020 Delhi riots, he crossed the limits and used words like genocide of Muslims in his tweets. In a tweet in 2024, he compared India with Gaza and Myanmar.
On every such occasion, India’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador and lodged a strong objection. Of course, during the Kargil war of 1999, Iran did not openly support Pakistan’s military operations. He did not openly oppose India even on the question of Kashmir but never supported it either. In fact, Iran and India see each other as essential partners in the politics of multipolar Asia—especially in the context of Afghanistan, Central Asia, and energy security. Both can be called situation-based strategic partners. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, amid opposition from America, Iran has from time to time tried to balance the issues of Kashmir and Pakistan, which is its strategic need.
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