How not to choose among allies
The HinduIn May 2012, Hillary Clinton, then U.S. Secretary of State, visited Delhi on behalf of the Western countries negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the nuclear deal, with Iran, to convince India to cut its oil imports from Iran. To begin with, there is the shock that sanctions would deal to the oil import bill, given that Iran is India’s third largest supplier. Finally, there would be the impact on India’s regional security situation, which could see the Iranian-Arab divide deepen, Afghanistan’s choices dwindle and an angry Iran pitched closer into the China-Russia corner. Iran’s options Meanwhile, little thought has been given to Iran’s reaction if India keeps submitting to the U.S.’s sanctions regime against it. With trade levels receding, the Iranian regime may well lose interest in the Chabahar option, and focus on its main port of Bandar Abbas instead, derailing India’s grander plans for regional connectivity.