The All-Party meeting on March 25, 2026, to discuss the West Asia Conflict was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, which has become the norm although he doesn’t hold second position after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India’s political hierarchy.
Rajnath Singh has been able to successfully whitewash the fallout of the 2020 Chinese aggression in Ladakh, our losses of men and material in Operation ‘Sindoor’, and in claiming that 58 organizations were consulted before thrusting the Agnipath Scheme upon the Armed Forces. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were among the attendees at the meeting.
Full proceedings of the meeting are not in the news but Jaishankar made the following points:
- India pursues multi-alignment to serve its own national interests, and continues to enjoy good relations with Iran.
- India sympathized with Iran for Ayatollah Khamenei’s killing.
- Israel helped India in military conflicts and is a source of military technology.
- Iran appreciated India allowing IRIS ‘Lavan’ docking at Kochi.
- IRIS ‘Dena’ would have 1safe harbour and not drifted towards international waters.
- Iran allowed four Indian ships through the Straits of Hormuz.
- Pakistan is skilled at inserting itself in conflicts, India is not a Dalal (broker) nation.
Jaishankar’s claims are hollow. After IRIS Dena and IRIS Lavan participated in the Indian Fleet Review (IFR), IRIS Lavan requested docking at Kochi, having developed technical issues. There was no reason for India to offer IRIS Dena safe harbour.
Iran’s extensive damage to US bases in West Asia with the US Navy falling back on Indian ports for logistics was reported by foreign analysts. Under the India-US intelligence sharing agreement, movement of ships during the IFR would have been shared, given the West Asia situation. The US submarine that sank IRIS Dena was perhaps already in Indian waters.
India’s multi-alignment is no big deal; every country, including Pakistan, does so. But India demonstrated solidarity with US-Israel even before the war began by seizing three Iranian oil tankers under American sanctions to appease US President Donald Trump. PM Modi’s address to Israel’s Knesset has been taken by many, including the Indian opposition, as an indication of comfort with Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
Only on March 6 did India’s foreign secretary sign the Iranian Embassy condolence book for Ayatollah Khamenei's killing on February 28. India didn’t condemn the US submarine attack on IRIS Dena that killed most of the sailors on board; or civilians targeted in Iran; or the destruction of the primary girl’s school that killed all the students present, that drew UN condemnation.
Concerned with Iran’s control of the Hormuz Straits, PM Modi spoke to Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on March 13 for the first time, although between March 1 and March 3 he spoke to Israel, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, condemning Tehran’s attacks on them. These were subsequent to the US-Israel attacks on Iran. Why didn’t the Prime Minister telephone Trump to stop the war?
Iran has allowed passage of ships of all friendly nations through the Straits of Hormuz charging Yuan 2 million per ship; this is no diplomatic feather in Jaishankar’s cap.
Jaishankar’s Dalal comment depicts frustration over India left out from backchannel diplomacy for West Asia peace. Does Jaishankar remember how he pushed PM Modi for rail-travel from Poland to Ukraine and back (16-hours both ways) after visiting Russia, for brokering peace to seek the Nobel Peace Prize?
Calls that PM Modi is the best to broker West Asia peace are linked to the FTA everyone wants with India, but Trump doesn’t seem to want Modi’s mediation. Concurrent to Trump’s recent telephone call to Modi, Pakistan is hosting a West Asia summit, followed by US Vice President JD Vance visiting Pakistan for the US-Iran negotiations.
For the nth time, Trump claimed he forced an India-Pakistan ceasefire in May 2025. More significant is Trump’s statement he doesn’t want to destroy Modi’s political career. What makes him say all this with such impunity?
Why has India become a spectator in a region where it claims to be a balancer, first responder and what not? With PM Modi being so close to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (and the latter holding the reins over Trump), how come he is not in the loop of peace negotiations? Did Netanyahu use Modi’s visit to Israel to showcase his support for diplomatic advances at the Geneva negotiations?
With the PM set to chair the 2026 BRICS Summit, Pezeshkian wants BRICS to condemn the US-Israel war on Iran, which is a problem. Speculation is that India’s alignment with US-Israel has lost it the trust of the Global South. This, of course, will be seen as the war recedes and diplomacy returns to the main stage.
Iran’s control over Hormuz is unlikely to recede and if the war continues, it can cut off the undersea cables carrying 95% of the global internet.
Jaishankar has been smug in arranging the highest civilian awards for the Prime Minister, the value of which can be gauged from Saudi Arabia giving the same award to Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir. Same goes for arranging a US-based firm like ‘Morning Consult’ calling Modi the most popular leader globally, while the US (not Trump alone) is publicly undermining India’s growth.
At the G7 foreign minister’s meeting, Jaishankar called for freedom of navigation in Hormuz which will become a staple slogan together with calls for a free and open Indo-Pacific. But speculation is rife about Jaishankar’s role in the predicament India has now landed up in, especially with the US-Israel war on Iran.
Interestingly, amidst all this India entertained a Chinese delegation at the BJP and RSS headquarters in New Delhi, opened all sectors to Chinese investments including border regions – a pendulum in freefall.
Indo-Americans today have been speculating on social media whether America’s deep state has assigned the role of Brutus to Jaishankar? More so after Jaishankar has failed to assuage (some use the words buy off) Donald Trump, which Pakistan has managed with 1/10th the size of India’s economy.
Lt General Prakash Katoch is an Indian Army veteran. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.