The first round of talks between the United States and Iran on the latter’s nuclear programme, held in Oman on April 12, 2025, has from all accounts ended on a positive note.

The US delegation to Oman mediated discussions that lasted 2.5 hours on Saturday was led by Trump envoy Steve Whitkoff while the Iranian side was led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. It is tough to miss the fact that the talks held in Oman, were the first since 2018 when President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, known more familiarly as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal) and were crucial to explore the possibility of getting a new deal.

Not only have both countries described the concluded meeting as "constructive," they have also confirmed that a second round of discussions will take place next week. Given the decades long and high levels of mistrust and animosity between the US and Iran, especially with the Trump Administration, that the talks have gotten off to a “constructive” start “in a very peaceful and respectful environment” -- in Araghchi’s words -- could be seen as promising.

India's interests in Iran

For India, which has found itself hamstrung by the vagaries of US-Iran tensions time and again over the decades, news that the two countries have started talks must be welcome news. India's Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi hasn’t yet commented on the talks, understandably, given its early days yet.

From US and other international sanctions hobbling the Chabahar port agreement to India having to “zero out” oil purchases from Iran in 2018 when Trump abandoned the JCPOA, New Delhi has had to play a tough balancing game between the two sides. One recalls that in the early 2000s, India had to keep the US happy given that New Delhi was negotiating the civil nuclear deal with Washington; that required putting the Chabahar port deal on the back burner despite it being a project of immense strategic interest to India. In fact, it was only last year (more than two decades after the two countries first agreed to develop the Iranian port to bypass Pakistan to reach out to Central Asia and Afghanistan) that India and Iran signed a 10-year agreement to develop and operate the Shahid Beheshti terminal of Chabahar port. India had taken over the management of part of the terminal in 2018. 

This project is not just a gateway for India to Afghanistan and Central Asia, but potentially to Europe via the INSTC (International North South Transport Corridor). Recently, the Taliban dispensation in Afghanistan evinced interest in the Chabahar Port and it has also been used by India for delivering relief material to Afghanistan.

India’s ties with Israel, Gulf nations

Add to this, India’s ties with Israel (which have been on a remarkable upward trajectory since formal diplomatic relations were established in 1992) and other Gulf countries and New Delhi has had to ensure its diplomacy has always been nimble and creative to accommodate all countries and their shades of opinion.

This, especially given that India has some 9 million of its people in the Middle East/West Asia region and therefore a major source of foreign remittance besides it being a major source of fuel and foreign direct investment.

Given its huge stakes in the region, can India continue to play the role of a bystander or should it play a more proactive role? If the latter, given India’s ambitions to be recognised as a regional power, what kind of a role can it play to ensure that the US and Iran stick to talks to reach a new nuclear pact?

Walking a fine balance

Since taking office for the first time in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invested personal time and effort to rework India’s ties with every country in the Middle East/West Asia. And the results are showing -- India's relations with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and others have improved dramatically. Cooperation on counter terrorism – once an irritant between India and countries in the region – is now remarkably smooth. There is a growing convergence with Gulf nations, Saudi Arabia and UAE on key strategic issues. Both Gulf nations themselves have also been keen to improve ties with Iran.

Ties with Iran too have gotten over their bumps – at a meeting between Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Kazan, Russia last year, the Iranian leader had noted India’s good relations with all countries in the region and referred to a potential role in de-escalating the conflict in West Asia.

Given the fact that India has managed to walk a fine balance on the Russia-Ukraine issue, it is well placed to play a larger role in reducing tensions between US and Iran due to its ties with Gulf nations and Israel, its own strategic and economic interests with Iran, and its rising global clout.

(Tridivesh Singh Maini is a Faculty member at OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India. Elizabeth Roche is Associate Professor at OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat. Views expressed are personal. He can be reached at tsmaini@jgu.edu.in and eliza_roche@yahoo.com )