Iran's Baghaei Affirms India Partnership Before BRICS Summit — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Iran shares "long-standing, historic and civilisational" ties with India and highly values the partnership, in a September 8, 2026 statement released by the Iranian Embassy in India.
- PM Narendra Modi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on August 31 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan — described as the first top-level Iran-India meeting since the war on Iran began this February.
- At the Bishkek meeting, Modi urged Pezeshkian to ensure peace and stability in West Asia and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Chabahar Port is a key bilateral issue, with both countries seeking to integrate it into the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), giving India direct access to Afghanistan while bypassing Pakistan, which denies India land transit routes.
- India will host the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, where Baghaei said Iran plans to continue discussions with India on mutual interests.
Why it matters: Pairing a Hormuz freedom-of-navigation demand with a Chabahar-INSTC corridor push gives India a concrete two-track agenda — securing shipping access and securing a Pakistan-bypassing trade route — and the September 12-13 BRICS Summit hosted on Indian soil lets New Delhi press both priorities with Tehran on its own turf.
Ask SkimNews
