ABSTRACT

India's relations with Iran received a substantive thrust with the end of the Cold War. India's link with Central Asia and Afghanistan is grounded in shared religion and history. In January 2003, India, Iran and Afghanistan signed an Memorandum of Understanding for the development and construction of transport infrastructures connecting Chabahar as a nodal point of a trade corridor linked up with Afghanistan's ring road system, also called as the Herat–Kandahar road or the 'garland highway'. India is assisting Iran to augment the Chabahar Port, which will provide a corridor for greater trade opportunities in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Iran, too, has suffered from Sunni militancy in its Sistan-Baluchistan province, along its border with Pakistan. Iran, India, and Russia coordinated extensively to contain Pakistan's involvement in Afghanistan and its support to the Taliban. India's cooperation in the defence and security areas with Iran falls within the ambit of the nation's geopolitical manoeuvres to increase international influence.