[Answered] India’s ‘great power’ status hinges on global multipolarity and West Asian stability. Examine how its diplomatic efforts urging U.S. tolerance towards Iran strengthen India’s strategic autonomy and influence in evolving world order.

Introduction

India’s rise as a great power is intrinsically linked to a multipolar world and a stable West Asia. Its diplomacy advocating U.S. restraint on Iran upholds both strategic autonomy and global balance.

Strategic Autonomy and Multipolarity: India’s Core Foreign Policy Goals

1. India’s pursuit of strategic autonomy—enshrined in its non-alignment legacy—has evolved into a proactive push for a multipolar world order, where no single power dominates.
2. This vision was articulated by the External Affairs Minister who reaffirmed India’s commitment to “building a multipolar world” during his 2024 Moscow visit.
3. Multipolarity provides India with manoeuvring space, safeguarding its sovereignty in decisions on trade, defense, and diplomacy.

Why West Asia Matters for India

1. West Asia is vital to India’s energy security, diaspora welfare, and trade routes.

1. India imports nearly 55% of its oil needs from the region (PIB, 2024).
2. Iran, despite U.S. sanctions, has historically been a strategic energy partner, offering affordable crude and the development of Chabahar Port, crucial for connectivity to Central Asia and Afghanistan.
3. A destabilized Iran or its regime collapse would consolidate U.S.-led unipolarity in West Asia, leaving India reliant on pro-U.S. regimes for energy, thereby constraining its bargaining power.

U.S.-Iran Tensions and India’s Balancing Act

1. India has traditionally maintained balanced ties with both the U.S. and Iran, asserting its strategic autonomy.

1. Despite U.S. pressure, India invested in Chabahar Port as an alternative to China-backed Gwadar.
2. During earlier U.S. sanctions, India negotiated a rupee-rial payment mechanism to continue limited trade with Iran.
3. India has also resisted Western demands to isolate Russia post-Ukraine, signaling its rejection of bloc politics.
4. India must now extend this approach to encourage U.S. tolerance towards Iran, underlining the geopolitical costs of a destabilized West Asia.

Preventing U.S.-Led Unipolarity: Global Implications

1. A U.S.-Israel-Iran war or Iran’s balkanization would leave no fully sovereign, independent state in West Asia.

1. India’s influence in the region partly stems from its ability to engage with both Gulf monarchies and alternative powers like Iran and Syria.
2. Loss of this balance would erode India’s strategic leverage and bind its energy and diplomacy to Western interests.

4. Thus, India’s advocacy for restraint not only supports peace but also preserves multipolarity, aligning it with like-minded powers like Russia and China while safeguarding its own ascent.

Quid Pro Quo and Realpolitik Diplomacy

India can leverage its position as a swing state in global geopolitics:

1. The U.S. needs India in the Indo-Pacific as a counterbalance to China.
2. India can highlight that West Asian conflict would raise global oil prices, hurting India more than China, thereby weakening a natural U.S. partner.
3. As seen in Ukraine, India’s non-aligned stance influences global legitimacy of Western actions.

4. India’s diplomatic suasion, based on pragmatic realism, can nudge the U.S. towards a more pluralistic view of global order.

Conclusion

By advocating restraint on Iran and reinforcing multipolarity, India preserves its strategic autonomy, balances its regional interests, and strengthens its great power aspirations amid an evolving and contested global order.