Any attack on the Gulf is an attack on India

When President Trump told the Iranian negotiators in Vienna that if his terms were not accepted, he would proceed to obliterate the Iranian nuclear capability, neither he nor India imagined that his war would affect a mini India consisting of nine million Indian citizens in the Gulf. Nine million is not a small figure, considering that there are more than a dozen independent countries in the world with populations below nine million. In effect, the attacks launched by Iran against the GCC countries turned out to be a blow to the interests of the US, Israel and Iran. It should not be forgotten that the Gulf counties whom Israel attacked were the very states that had signed the Abraham Accords and transformed the economic and political relations with the west. The I2U2 grouping now lie shattered and the prospects for an India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a modern day Silk Road are in ruins. If the combatants did not hurt the hard working Indians, who sweated it out in the deserts to turn them into modern cities, we would have had a different scenario in the Middle East. It was for this reason that I posted the following on X as soon as the hostilities began.

“We should drive home to the US, Israel and Iran that any attack on the GCC countries is an attack on India as the region holds 9 million Indian nationals. Whatever may be their objectives, they should have refrained from attacking GCC countries. We should also press for a ceasefire.”

It is quite possible that this angle was not fully recognised by the US, Israel and Iran when they planned their strategies for their attack or to counter the attacks against them. The irony of the situation is that India is the only country in the world today which has special relationships with the US, Israel and Iran. Each has a stake in its relations with India. The US, Israel and India share a concern about Iran becoming a nuclear weapon state. Even Iran claims that there exists a fatwa against acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran. Iran also has enough deposits of energy not to warrant heavy investments in developing a nuclear weapon. That was the reason why Iran gave sufficient indication that it might relent on the nuclear issue, but not on the US demand for curtailing the missile programme. Iran has a deep economic relationship with India. PM Modi found it comfortable to visit Israel just before the war broke out, a special

gesture to Israel and the US. This means that all these countries should have listened to India if India had pointed out to them that India had the obligation to protect nine million Indians in the Gulf region. It is quite possible that the three combatants did not take this factor into account and India did not have the opportunity to ask for a ceasefire on the ground of Indian responsibility for its people in the Gulf. Of course, the US and Israel had not expected that Iran would target the Gulf countries in the guise of attacking US military bases in the region. It was most unfortunate that the US

Israel attack had grave consequences for GCC countries, which were the most peaceful and prosperous countries in the region.

The latest is that Prime Minister Modi has spoken to all concerned that we have a vital interest in the region not only in the Indian community, but also India’s physical and energy security. India’s initiative in this regard, though late, should have an impact on all the fighting states. The Indian initiative may have a critical factor in ending the conflict soon.