India's involvement in the port development was not strictly under the international sanctions that had been imposed on Iran.
Global financial markets are wrong in hoping that the worst is over in geopolitical crises such as the Iran-Israel conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war, wrote Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, in a recent note to investors called 'GREED & fear'. While most investors and the media are focused on United States (US) Federal Reserve policy and the "endless chatter" of Fed governors, Wood believes the news flow in the financial sphere "pales into complete insignificance" compared with the "tectonic shifts" going on in geopolitics.
The Chabahar message is a reality check for China, which has made deep political and strategic inroads into Iran.
The Israeli government on Sunday approved the appointment of Reuven Azar as the new Ambassador to India.
In the Middle East, which is already coping with the Qatar-Saudi Arabia tensions, comes another pressure point.
Global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, Christopher Wood, has cut his exposure to Indian equities by one percentage point in the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan relative-return portfolio, and Australia and Malaysia by half a percentage point each in favour of China, which has seen a hike in exposure by two percentage points. The rally in China has been fast-forwarded by the approach of a seven-day holiday with the CSI 300 Index up 8.5 per cent on Monday, and 25.1 per cent in five trading days, he said.
'If you see another 1000-point correction, people may start panicking.'
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The reversal of Trump's policy with regard to Iran, like the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, may not be a matter of just turning the clock back, but one of patient negotiations, with uncertain consequences in the post-COVID-19 world, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The Reserve Bank is unlikely to cut the benchmark interest rate in its forthcoming bi-monthly monetary policy review later in the week as retail inflation is still a cause of concern, and there is a possibility of the Middle East crisis deteriorating further, impacting crude oil and commodity prices, say experts.
India is one of the few countries in the region that enjoys good relations with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, and IMEC would allow it to recreate the old Spice Route to Europe. All this is in jeopardy now, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
India's voting pattern in the United Nations with regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict is lately marked by a calibrated distancing from Israel, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has stopped importing oil from Iran after the United States refused to extend exemption from sanctions earlier this month.
President Rouhani will be accorded a ceremonial reception on February 17. He will call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Modi.
India should do what we can to ensure that our two friends do not get into a confrontation that is meaningless and ultimately damaging to everyone including us.
The oil industry experienced three upheavals between 1973 and 1991, which seem to be etched in the memory of the industry's decision makers. Naturally, at the sign of a new crisis, the decision makers like to dip into those tumultuous decades to find ways to deal with the new shock, in addition, of course, to expert reports and forecasts. So, the industry bigwigs turned the pages of history to get a peek into the future of oil price movements after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Israel attacked Gaza in 2023, Iran-linked Houthi rebels pounded tankers crossing the Red Sea in support of Palestine the same year, and Iran rained missiles on Israel in 2024.
'Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism.'
India owes Iran around $8.8 billion primarily on account of crude oil imports.
The Modi government's appalling inefficiency and lack of purpose stand exposed, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Escalation of the conflict in West Asia between Israel and Iran has had a direct impact on the energy markets, and more broadly on the financial markets as well as the global economy.
The increase in India's military spending was "mainly a result of growing personnel and operations costs" which made up almost 80 percent of the total military budget in 2023, the SIPRI report claimed.
The minister assured the families that the people would be airlifted as soon as possible.
"Iran is an important neighbouring country on the other side of Pakistan. Iran is a major source of energy. It is the only route to have access to Central Asia and Afghanistan. It is a very important Gulf nation. We cannot undermine our ties with it"
The unexpected missile attack on a second India-bound ship carrying Russian crude, just three weeks after the first, has complicated matters for domestic refiners. India now counts the Vladimir Putin-led nation as its biggest oil supplier, according to Paris-based market intelligence agency Kpler, and these attacks come on top of US sanctions since December, where vessels that bring crude to India are facing heightened scrutiny. Panama-registered Pollux, which loaded crude at the Sheshkaris oil terminal in the Russian port of Novorossiysk on January 24, was scheduled to deliver the medium, sour Urals grade to Paradip port on February 28.
Contending that Iran was a 'threat to the international community', Richard Haass, president of US private think tank Council on Foreign Relations, said India should persuade the Persian country to give up its nuclear programme as it is in New Delhi's own interest. His comments came when referred to India's strong assertion that it does not need 'any guidance' from the US on its dealings with Iran.
Stocks in the automotive, financial, cement, metal, and hotel sectors are likely to benefit if the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes back to power for a third time. The key investment themes have been identified after analysing the Sankalp Patra - the party's manifesto for the next five years - released on Sunday.
'If their allocation to certain segments have become high due to strong returns over the past three-four years, they should rebalance their portfolios and bring them in line with their long-term asset allocation.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sudnay arrived in Tehran on a two-day visit.
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Asserting that it will continue to engage Iran in bilateral economic activities, India on Thursday said any issue that Iran has with other parts of the world should not impede "legitimate economic interaction" of the two countries.
'We emphasise the importance of not basing investment decisions solely on electoral outcomes.' 'Instead, focusing on investing in high-quality businesses capable of prospering regardless of the political landscape is paramount.'
India's solidarity with the Palestinian cause dates back to Mahatma Gandhi's time and its rising global stature and influence over all key players in West Asia make it well-placed to play a crucial role in defusing the crisis arising out of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Palestine Ambassador Adnan Abu Alhaija said on Tuesday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will undertake a three-day visit to New Delhi next week during which issues related to Iran's controversial nuclear programme and the proposed tri-nation gas pipeline are expected to dominate.
Pakistan-India bilateral relations remained frozen for the fourth year over the vexed Kashmir issue but analysts hope the strained ties could be repaired if Nawaz Sharif becomes the prime minister for a record fourth time in the general elections in February in the absence of his main challenger Imran Khan who is in jail in multiple cases.
Geo-political reasons are to be blamed for spike in global oil prices, he says.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said Monday that India has unambiguously said it's against Iran developing or acquiring nuclear weapons and that if the United Nations Security Council slaps sanctions against Tehran, it would support such action, but hoped United States President Obama's outreach to Iran on this issue would yield a compromise that doesn't necessitate such an outcome.
Iran's foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna during his two-day visit to India. Mottaki, who has frequently been in the news for defending Iran's controversial nuclear agenda, told a TV channel during an interview, "Leaders of India are looking for a new chapter of co-operation and relation with Iran and that is a constructive signal."
"We hope that India, as well as all other states -- China, Russia, France, Britain and Japan -- will diminish their economic relations with Iran," US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said.
"Iran and India enjoys close friendly relations," the spokesman was quoted in Tehran Times as saying.
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