Iran-Israel ties, or the lack of it, a concern, Jaishankar says

The  relationship, or the absence of it, between Israel and Iran has been a source of concern, with some of India’s diplomatic efforts focused on this aspect, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said on Sunday.

Jaishankar’s address at the Manama Dialogue 2024 in Bahrain came on a day rebel forces made a lightning advance into Damascus, toppling the six-decades-old Iran- and Russia-backed Alawite regime.

The rapid push into Syria’s capital by the rebels forced former president Bashar Al Assad, who reportedly sought a last-ditch indirect help from the US by reaching out to Hungary, to flee to Moscow

At the Manama dialogue, Jaishankar said the tensions between the two countries has been “a source of concern” for New Delhi.

“(The) political-diplomatic co-operation that we can think of is really at a time when the world is polarized if not downright violent, how do you prevent an escalation of tensions, how do you prevent conflict from spreading further,” Jaishankar said.

“In recent times, for all of us, the relationship or absence of it between Israel and Iran has been particularly a source of concern, so some of our diplomatic efforts has focused on that particular aspect,” the minister added, without elaborating what India’s efforts were.

Jaishankar pointed out that India conducts an annual bilateral trade of about $80-90 billion with the countries of the Mediterranean.

“We have half a million Indian who live in the Mediterranean countries. And today when we look at the Mediterranean, we have Indian companies who operate ports, are building an airport, who have military production centres there, big trade partners,” Jaishankar said.

Pointing out to India’s stakes in the region, the stakeholders could cooperate “in a political-diplomatic way and what we do in my business is essentially try to address the challenges of the day as collectively and as effectively as possible.”

“And this today would extend from Gaza to Lebanon and now to Syria as well. But at the same time, we have to be realistic about competing interests in this region. So, diplomacy is often easier said than done and one of the interesting evolution of the world today is actually on different issues, sometimes in the same region, you have a different combination of countries that are working together and that to me is a characteristics of our era,” he added.

Tensions between Israel and Iran have led to regional instability for decades, with both nations often at odds over a range of political, military, and ideological issues.

In October, Iran launched about 200 missiles targeting Israel following the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and other senior commanders by Israeli forces.

Israel responded with retaliatory strikes against Iran.

Meanwhile for India has to walk a tightrope, balancing diplomatic act, when it comes to Israel and Iran.

New Delhi has historically maintained cordial relations with both countries—Israel for its technology and security co-operation, and Iran for its energy resources and strategic position in the region.