Bharat Rakshak

Philip wrote:We have to work out our own methodology for bi-lateral relations with other nations,where we place our special,unique capabilities forward,not competing mile for mile with China. India spells innovation,China gigantism. Why China has to steal from all over the world to get ahead in life,including the designs for Kancheepuram sarees!

Our unique geography,democracy,versatility,diversity of thousands of years of civilization,plus today an independent nuclear power with massive military capability,brings with it our own "flavor",which many smaller nations find attractive,reassuring and a willingness to participate with us in many ways.Indo-Iranian relations are ancient and historic,far more ancient than that of the US/West. Our great Parsi community ,renowned for industry and philanthropy are Persians in origin.We need to exploit our ties with Iran as much as possible esp. because Iran is the gateway to Central Asia for us and a Shiite bulwark against the Wahaabi extremism of Pakistan.

Indian companies explored and discovered oil and gas in Iran's Farzad B gas field in 2008. They have already invested around $100m to develop the facility but production was stalled due to sanctions.

After dragging its feet for years, New Delhi rushed in a delegation to discuss the project, as signs emerged that sanctions on Iran would be lifted after the nuclear deal. But Iranian press reports say Tehran has rejected India's proposal and plans to auction the site instead.

*snip*
India also signed signed a $233m contract to supply a more than 150,000 tonnes of rail tracks to develop Iran's railways. But the project has run into trouble with reports saying Iran wants to renegotiate the deal to bring down the price because the euro has declined against the dollar.

manjgu wrote:this is not an excuse but the reason... i mean when india cant deal with a country 1/7 of its size.. has millions shitting along railways lines... has dire poverty..no one is going to take india seriously. We will have to learn to compete with not only china but others as well. this neta - babu ( ias, ifs.. ) is ruinng this country no end.

The Indian “sources” lament that they thought they “enjoyed special dispensation from Tehran as one of only a handful of countries willing to do business with it while it faced Western economic sanctions.” (Reuters)

What Reuters failed to report is that the “special dispensation” actually meant barter trade, which was necessitated by the US’ banking sanctions against Iran that Delhi was under no compulsion to obey but did nonetheless, and thereby forced Iran to sell oil to India as barter trade. Shakespeare’s Shylock would have admired our ingenuity to extract a pound of flesh from a neighbor in distress and thereafter badmouth him.

Clearly, SAIL and Jindal extracted a good deal when Iran had no choice but to do barter trade with India at uneconomical terms. And, now that the US sanctions are going to be lifted, why should Tehran still buy rail tracks from India at the inflated price? Alas, Reuters had a good story in hand but lacked the inquisitive spirit to probe what those “special dispensations” actually meant.

However, the core issue here is something else – our inability to repair the fractured ties with Iran, which the UPA government handed down to us an year ago. We are going about it the wrong way. The outreach should not have been at the level of a commerce secretary pushing an export deal; it is crude and make us look like crass merchants.

There should have been a political overture first. Our External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj should have led it and Kher should have followed her lead. The SAIL and Jindal Steel could have waited.

Iran is a unique regional power that gives strategic underpinnings to its external relations. No doubt, Iran desires close relations with India. It is also self-confident enough not to view India’s ties with Israel or Saudi Arabia in zero sum terms. But the fact of the matter is that the UPA government followed a policy of kowtowing to the US and had neglected the relationship.

The present government need not have followed the UPA’s footfall. But it did precisely that. Was it due to continued US pressure? Was it a sign of Israel’s influence? Or, was it because of Islamophobia? Perhaps, it was a combination of all these factors.

Funnily, Israel has just accused the US of having violated its own sanctions against Iran. Yet, the Obama administration continues to lecture the Modi government on the ABC of the US’ sanctions against Iran.

How come the Americans think they can get away with such black humor? President Barack Obama stood beside Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi during the January visit and openly praised him for pursuing the US-led policies toward Iran just as his predecessor did.

Given these stark realities, why should our bureaucrats moan and whine? After all, the Iranians still didn’t cold-shoulder Minister Nitin Gadkari. President Hassan Rouhani received him cordially, read the letter attentively that PM Narendra Modi wrote to him and responded with warm words. But can the Iranians be faulted if they look after their interests in the best way they can?

They have defeated the US’ containment strategy. The international community is knocking at their door for partnership. They have no reason to allow themselves to be held to ransom by their barter trade with India. Indeed, they have no reason to be grateful to India for the barter trade.

India still keeps several billion dollars accruing from Iran’s oil sales as “blocked funds”. To be sure, it should come as no surprise if Iran first ensures that the blocked funds are duly released.

he Iranian regime is like a monster that was tied to a tree and finally set loose based on good intentions. The agreement reached between major world powers and Tehran abandons the demand to end its nuclear program, and lifts sanctions as Iran restores more than $100 billion of frozen assets. I can imagine the wide smile of disbelief of Iranian leaders, as this is a gift from the sky for almost nothing in return.The conditions Tehran set at the end were not a necessity, but it imposed them to further pressure the Americans and speed up the negotiating process by refusing the inspection of military sites and preventing investigations with Iranian scientists.We have grown tired, and want an ending that benefits the Iranian and Arab peoples without humiliation or pain. Unfortunately, the deal fulfils Iranian clerics’ wishes as it allows Iran to keep its nuclear capabilities, and only imposes a 10-year hiatus on intensive uranium enrichment. Also, Tehran is free to resume its adventures and support extremist groups. The agreement does not include a mechanism or set of commitments to protect the region.
What we fear is the deal strengthening the hawks in Tehran and therefore postponing any positive transition within or outside the regime for a decade or two. The authority of evil governments, such as Saddam Hussein’s in Iraq, Bashar al-Assad’s in Syria and Moammar Qaddafi’s in Libya, has either fallen or weakened, and the Iranian regime was afraid it will face the same fate.The agreement has fortified it, so we expect more wars and blood in the region. That is why we disagree with Washington as it could have signed a better deal that could have positively changed the region, as Iran is the official supporter of most extremist parties, from Hezbollah to Hamas to the League of the Righteous.Iran is the motive for the emergence of opposing extremist parties such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and its terrorist operations have expanded to include the Philippines in the far east to Argentina in the far west.

Picklu wrote:Now that Iran is free of sanctions, it is going to back stab India in no time commercially. We will off course rationalize the same wit platitudes like self interest is paramount.

NEW DELHI: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has asked India to invest in infrastructure projects worth $8 billion, including an expanded role in developing a strategic port that will open up access to Central Asia, Gholamreza Ansari, Iran's envoy to New Delhi, said on Friday.The port of Chabahar in southeast Iran is central to India's efforts to circumvent Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan, where it has developed close security ties and economic interests.
Mr Rouhani suggested the larger role for India during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a summit in Russia days before the historic nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Iran's ambassador to India told Reuters."The potential between Iran and India is great but we were just facing such a wall of sanctions, wall of American pressure," ambassador Ansari said.Mr Ansari said that with sanctions likely to be lifted soon, it was a "golden time" for India to seize investment opportunities because of the two countries' close trade ties and shared interest in improving Central Asian transport links."Connectivity is the main policy of Modi that coincides with Iran's government policy," Mr Ansari said, and added, "We have offered them, in connectivity, $8 billion of projects."
PM Modi's meeting with Mr Rouhani was part of a tour of Central Asia focused on increasing India's role in the region.It was not immediately clear how PM Modi responded to Mr Rouhani's offer. The foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.India and Iran agreed in 2003 to develop Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, near Iran's border with Pakistan, but the venture has moved slowly because of the sanctions over Iran's atomic programme.The two countries maintained a close relationship despite the US-led trade restrictions that halved their oil trade to 220,000 barrels per day last year.In May, India's Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi, signed an $85 million deal for India to lease two existing berths at the port and use them as multi-purpose cargo terminals.Under the new proposal, India could help build second and third terminals at the port, as well as railway connections into the rest of Iran, Mr Ansari said.India has moved slowly on opportunities in Iran in the past, including the giant Farzad B gas field. Mr Ansari said India was the "first priority" to develop Farzad B, but urged New Delhi to move fast. "If they drag their feet, the market will not wait," he said.

NEW DELHI: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has asked India to invest in infrastructure projects worth $8 billion, including an expanded role in developing a strategic port that will open up access to Central Asia, Iran's envoy to New Delhi said on Friday.

The port of Chabahar in southeast Iran is central to India's efforts to circumvent arch-rival Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where it has developed close security ties and economic interests.

Rouhani suggested the larger role for India during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a summit in Russia days before the historic nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Iran's ambassador to India told Reuters.

"The potential between Iran and India is great but we were just facing such a wall of sanctions, wall of American pressure," ambassador Gholamreza Ansari said.

manjgu wrote:this is not an excuse but the reason... i mean when india cant deal with a country 1/7 of its size.. has millions shitting along railways lines... has dire poverty..no one is going to take india seriously. We will have to learn to compete with not only china but others as well. this neta - babu ( ias, ifs.. ) is ruinng this country no end.

UlanBatori wrote:

But is blood thicker than water?

Oil is. I don't think gas is. Question is: Are Eyeranian Baboon thicker than Desi Baboon.

manjgu wrote:... its not going to be easy in iran competing with chinese, europeans, russians, Americans..

ran has offered India $8 billion worth of infrastructure projects, including a stake in developing the strategic port of Chabahar, the country’s ambassador to New Delhi has said.

The two countries signed an MoU in May for Chabahar’s development in southeast Iran but a commercial accord is needed to implement the pact.

New Delhi wants to use the port’s potentials for connectivity, including its terminals to operate container and multi-purpose cargo ships for trade with Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries.

Ambassador Gholamreza Ansari said President Hassan Rouhani had offered Prime Minister Narendra Modi an expanded role for India to play in Iran’s connectivity plans.

"Connectivity is the main policy of Modi that coincides with Iran's government policy. We have offered them, in connectivity, $8 billion of projects," the Indian media quoted Ansari as saying.

ndia missed the chance to bring the US and Iran together because of a lack of intent and direction, for years. Luckily, India has a chance to make up for some of those missed chances now.

India plans a $3 billion aluminum smelter complex in Iran, now that nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the P5+1 countries have concluded, media reports say.

Bid for business

Other Indian companies are reportedly scouting for business opportunities in Iran. Multinational conglomerate Larsen & Toubro is said to be angling for oil and gas projects while Tata Power is looking for power schemes and Adani Enterprises eyeing port investments.

India signed an MoU in May for the development of Chabahar Port in southeast Iran. A commercial accord is still needed to implement the pact. New Delhi says it will use terminals in the port to operate container and multi-purpose cargo ships.

Last month, the second English-language Indian daily, the Hindu, said New Delhi had begun “resetting” ties with Tehran to pave its way for entry into Afghanistan and the Central Asia.

Relationship with the U.S. If the deal is implemented, this will ease what has been a key cause of India-U.S. strain in the recent past. The U.S. Congress, in particular, has previously looked askance at India’s relationship with Iran and especially its oil imports. Indian energy companies like ONGC have also found themselves vulnerable to American sanctions because of their investments in Iran, limiting their ability to operate in the U.S. While they broadly share the goal of preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, the effect that sanctions have had in curbing their choices has rankled with Indian policymakers, corporate leaders, and even the public. The potential lifting of the sanctions will thus remove one point of contention between India and the U.S. and potentially open up more space for cooperation in the region.

Paul wrote:


Kinda explains why all the action is on the western side.

BEIRUT – Iranian security forces have reportedly demolished a prayer hall serving as the only Sunni mosque in the capital Tehran in the latest act of repression against Sunni Muslims residing in the theocratic Shiite state.

The Tehran authorities have justified the demolition with the excuse that the mosque is an illegal center which allows foreigners to come to the country,” the Qatari-owned network added.

The destruction of the site—which had previously been ordered shut by Iranian authorities in January—prompted the Sunni imam of Zahedan to send protest letters to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.

The report added that Iranian government officials have “responded to criticism from Sunni activists regarding restrictions on prayer and worship during Eid by saying that mosques in Iran are open to all Muslims regardless of sect.”
“They have called on Sunnis to show their ‘unity’ with their Shia counterparts and join them in prayer, despite significant differences in ritual.”
Iran has come under international criticism for its restrictions on religious freedoms, including against followers of the Bahai faith—which is not recognized as a religion in the theocratic country—as well as Sunni Muslims, who make up between 5 and 10% of Iran’s population.

Abhay_S wrote:Vivek Katju on R S tv mentions that there is a Bandar Abbas lobby against Chabahar port. what is the importance of this port for Iran other than it is outside the straits of Hormouz?

Iran registered a heat index of 74°C (165.2°F) on Friday

Asked about the possibility of reviving the Iran-Pakistan- India gas pipeline project, the envoy said it was up to India and Pakistan to sort out their differences.