The West Asia crisis is challenging India’s foreign policy, once built on balance but now strained. India risks appearing unreliable—dodging moral clarity, tough choices, and favouring optics over substance
Published Jun 22, 2025 | 3:00 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 22, 2025 | 3:00 PM
West Asia turmoil challenges India’s foreign policy strategy
Synopsis: India’s West Asia policy is under strain amid escalating Israel-Iran tensions and the Gaza crisis. Once praised for balancing ties with Israel, Iran, and the Gulf, New Delhi now faces criticism for its silence on Israeli actions and repeated UN abstentions. The stance undermines India’s global image and raises questions about its claim to lead the Global South
Amid the flames of an escalating Israel-Iran conflict and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, India’s carefully calibrated West Asia policy is facing its most serious test yet. What was once seen as a strategic diplomatic balancing act — fostering deepening ties with Israel, expanding energy and trade links with the Gulf, and maintaining a working relationship with Iran — now appears to be unraveling, revealing inconsistencies under mounting geopolitical pressure.
India’s silence on Israeli aggression, repeated abstentions at the United Nations, and its apparent hesitancy to fully engage with a rapidly evolving crisis have cast doubt on its global posture and ambitions to be the voice of the Global South. For a country aspiring to a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, its current stance has sparked uncomfortable questions at home and abroad.
At the core of India’s foreign policy dilemma is its long-standing attempt to juggle strategic relationships in West Asia. For several years, India managed an impressive equilibrium: cultivating close defence and intelligence ties with Israel, while preserving historic links with Iran and strengthening economic partnerships with Gulf monarchies like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The I2U2 grouping (India, Israel, UAE, and the US) and the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) were once heralded as symbols of this connectivity-driven diplomacy. However, with the stalling of the Abraham Accords and the region’s descent into conflict, the fragility of this diplomatic architecture has been laid bare.
“The gains from parallel engagement are rapidly eroding,” notes former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran. “India may now find it increasingly difficult to sustain its posture as a neutral stakeholder.”
India’s deepening partnership with Israel has been one of the Modi administration’s hallmark foreign policy achievements. From intelligence sharing to procurement of cutting-edge weaponry — such as in Operation Sindoor, India’s targeted military strike on Pakistan — Israel has become a valued ally. But this closeness has carried diplomatic costs.
Since the Gaza war erupted in late 2023, India has largely limited itself to muted calls for peace, avoiding direct criticism of Israel despite mounting global outrage over alleged war crimes. Most recently, India abstained — for the fourth time in three years — from a UN General Assembly resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, even after voting in favour of a similar motion in December 2024.
India, once a vocal supporter of Palestinian statehood, now stands diplomatically isolated. All other South Asian nations, the BRICS bloc, and SCO partners supported the UNGA resolution, while New Delhi tacitly aligned with the U.S.-Israel bloc.
Tensions escalated further after Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a direct strike on Iranian nuclear and military facilities, killing senior IRGC members and top nuclear scientists. India did not condemn the attack, issuing only generic statements urging de-escalation and diplomacy.
Tehran, a long-time strategic partner — especially through the Chabahar Port initiative — has taken note. Already wary of exclusion from regional infrastructure projects like IMEC, Iran may reassess its relations with New Delhi in light of India’s diplomatic silence.
“For India’s strategic interests, a strong and friendly Iran is essential,” says Saran. “Abandoning Tehran in favour of Tel Aviv may please Washington, but it jeopardizes decades of painstaking diplomacy.”
The stakes in the Gulf are equally high. Over nine million Indians reside and work in the region, contributing billions in remittances. A wider regional war would endanger their safety, disrupt oil supplies, and inflict significant economic damage on India.
Gulf states, while publicly cautious, are reportedly discomfited by India’s reluctance to condemn Israeli actions, particularly in Gaza. If New Delhi is seen as complicit in Palestinian suffering or indifferent to regional unrest, anti-India sentiment may grow.
Further complicating matters is the awkward episode involving U.S. President Donald Trump. His early exit from the failed G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, and his failure to meet Prime Minister Modi, despite later phone contact, embarrassed New Delhi. The situation worsened when Trump hosted Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir at the White House just hours after the Modi call.
Trump’s repeated claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor have only added to the discomfort. Pakistan has backed Trump’s version of events, while India officially denies any U.S. mediation. Prime Minister Modi has yet to publicly refute Trump’s remarks. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri later clarified that Modi told Trump no such mediation or trade discussions occurred.
Michael Kugelman of the Asia Pacific Foundation warns that Indo-U.S. ties — which have strengthened in recent years — could deteriorate if Trump continues to make such claims or pushes for U.S. mediation on Kashmir, an issue India deems strictly bilateral. At the Kananaskis summit, Trump even proposed expanding the G7 into a “G9” including Russia and China — leaving out India, soon to be the world’s fourth-largest economy.
India’s foreign policy increasingly appears driven by risk-aversion rather than vision. Repeated abstentions on Gaza, soft-pedalling of Israeli aggression, and lukewarm outreach to Iran suggest a country hedging its bets — and losing its direction.
This strategic drift is particularly glaring for a nation that speaks of becoming a “Vishwaguru” or global teacher. Remaining absent from major peace-building efforts while sidestepping critical votes is not the path to global leadership.
The turmoil in West Asia has exposed deep cracks in India’s foreign policy. Designed to balance conflicting interests, it now appears overwhelmed by them. India risks being seen as an unreliable regional player — one that shuns moral clarity, avoids hard decisions, and prioritises optics over substance.
More critically, India is losing credibility as a potential mediator or voice of reason in a region desperately in need of both. While other powers engage diplomatically, India remains conspicuously absent — at the UN, at international summits, and in regional negotiations.
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
