ABSTRACT

C. Christine Fair observes that "the friendship soon grew complicated India and Iran found themselves enmeshed in the complex web of international relations of the Cold War". As a result of Nehru's perceived consternation for those who became part of the Cold War military pacts, a barrier was created between India and Iran. The Shah of Iran appears to have borne no ill will towards India, despite his warming of relations with Pakistan. Both Iran and Pakistan had joined the Baghdad Pact, albeit for different reasons. Another factor that adversely impacted the Indo-Iranian relations in the 1950s, was India's relations with the radical Arab states like Egypt, Syria and Iraq in general and Nehru's close personal friendship with the Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser in particular. While economic relations between India and Iran go back to the early 1950s, it was in the 1960s that the economic ties between the two countries showed definite signs of moving forward.