As the Taliban in Afganistan gains ground after the withdrawal of the NATO forces, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in a surprise diplomatic visit to Iran, met with President-elect Ebrahim Raisi which is a rare gesture by Iran when to allow the incoming president meet a visiting foreign dignitary.
Jaishankar is now the first foreign dignitary and senior minister from the Modi government to meet Iran’s hard-liner President-elect Raisi to succeed Hassan Rouhani.
During the meeting, Jaishankar delivered a written congratulatory message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to President-elect Raisi and both sides agreed on the necessity to strengthen inter-Afghan dialogue leading and later a statement was issued by the Iranian foreign ministry.
The date of India’s EAM’s travel to Iran, however, coincided with a delegation of Taliban officials led by Shir Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai visiting Iran from Doha to promote intra-Afghan talks following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Thank President-elect Ebrahim Raisi for his gracious welcome. Handed over a personal message from PM @narendramodi. Appreciate his warm sentiments for India. Deeply value his strong commitment to strengthen our bilateral ties and expand cooperation on regional and global issues (sic),” Jaishankar said in a tweet.
According to Iran’s foreign ministry, Jaishankar had “thanked Iran for its efforts” for bringing the Afghan government and the Taliban leaders “closer to a comprehensive political solution” even as the intra-Afghan talks remained in a stalemate.
The talks with Iran also featured Oil Trade, the future of the Chabahar Port, and the resumption of oil imports from Iran, which were stopped in May 2019 due to American sanctions under the Trump administration.
India is now cautiously watching the Joe Biden administration and the lifting of the sanctions as New Delhi is keen to resume the bilateral trade with Iran on oil and petrochemicals.
For India in order to remain relevant in Afganistan, the Chabahar Port is critical as it gives India connectivity and trade to Afghanistan.
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