Following up on:
For those that doubt or dismiss US interest/interference in the Indian/Iranian relationship..Pakistan serving as one means of 'stirring the pot' between the two nations. Keep in mind that a terror attack, from Pakistan, was also made into Iran just ahead of the Kashmir incident.Pakistan has it's own reasons to go along with the US as well. Not the least of them being massive military funding.Information on that attack :
That's correct there was a terrorist attack in Iran.The very day of the Summit in Sochi. Message to Iran? You betcha! Delivered via Pakistan
2-Iran calls for intensified security measures on Pak borderAlgemeiner& Reuters & Jundallah IranA militant Sunni Muslim group, Jaish al Adl (Army of Justice), which says it seeks greater rights and better living conditions for the ethnic minority Baluchis, has claimed responsibility for the attack, Iranian media have reported.The assault, which wounded at least 13 people, took place in the province of Sistan-Baluchestan, which has a large, mainly Sunni Muslim, ethnic Baluchi community, which straddles the border with Pakistan.
Keep it under your hat informationLowyInstitute
At a recent event in New Delhi, Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the United Nations, called Iran “the next North Korea” and urged India to rethink its relationship with the Islamic Republic. This was followed shortly afterwards by an American delegation, led by Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea, who came to New Delhi and urged India to cut down on oil trade with Iran.India’s policy towards Iran is facing a crucial test with US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and the expected new sanctions on the Islamic Republic.The visit of the US delegation coincided with regular diplomatic consultations between India and Iran, which included discussion of efforts “to address issues that have arisen” after the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, or, as it is officially known, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Together, the visits can be seen in the background of impending US sanctions on Iran, set to take effect on 6 August.This has ignited a debate about whether American pressure on India, and India’s continuing efforts to strengthen its relationship with the US, could potentially overshadow New Delhi’s policy towards Iran.After 2001, India and Iran attempted to establish a strong partnership bolstered by political visits and the New Delhi Declaration signed in 2003 that set out a plan for a more engaged political and economic relationship. However, developments in Iran’s nuclear program and US attempts to censure Tehran under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations placed a significant constraint on Indian policy.Fast forward to 2014, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Look West Policy raised hopes for re-establishing India–Iran ties. This was formalised in 2015 through a trilateral agreement with Afghanistan to develop the Chabahar Port, which would give India access to Afghanistan by circumventing Pakistan and pave the way for robust economic arrangements between the three nations. The agreement was to offer connectivity and trade opportunities to India, and the ability to reach out to Central Asian states to secure India’s energy security and geopolitical position.
Interesting to understand that Modi's "Look West Policy" would certainly raise the ire of the America and definitely result in media terminology being tossed around like "Hindu-fascist" in order to discredit the Indian leadership.
The lifting of sanctions on Iran with the signing of the nuclear deal in 2015 offered a further boost to a sustainable economic partnership. There were reports that India’s exports amounted to $2.6 billion between April 2015 to February 2016, while imports doubled from the previous year, to $5.6 billion.But India’s policy towards Iran is facing a crucial test once again with US withdrawal from the JCPOA...
Link: The Gadkari Effect on India-Iran Relations
‘Gadkari’s rings’ around the Chabahar Port in the remote province of Sistan-Baluchistan in southeastern Iran are phenomenally transforming the India-Iran relationship. The first definitive signs of this appeared in December when the quiet, intense discussions between New Delhi and Tehran under Gadkari’s watch resulted in the agreement over a new payment mechanism that dispenses with the use of American dollar in India-Iran economic transactions.
Prime facie, it was a riposte to the use of sanctions (‘weaponization of dollar’) as a foreign policy tool to interfere in Iran’s oil trade with third countries such as India. (See my blog India sequesters Iran ties from US predatory strike.)However, the 3-day visit to Delhi by the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on January 7-9 highlighted that the application of the payment mechanism to the Indian-Iranian cooperation over Chabahar Port holds seamless potential to energize the economic partnership between the two countries across the board. In a historical sense, an opportunity is at hand to make the partnership, which has been ‘oil-centric’, a multi-vector ‘win-win’ relationship.
Hindu fascist or non subservient to the empire?
The meeting between Gadkari and Zarif in Delhi on Tuesday signaled that the two sides have a ‘big picture’ in mind. Thus, the opening of a branch of Bank Pasargad in Mumbai is a timely step. Pasargad is a major Iranian private bank offering retail, commercial and investment banking services, which provides services such as letters of credit, treasury, currency exchange, corporate loans syndication, financial advisory and electronic banking. (It is ranked 257th in the Banker magazine’s “1000 banks in the world”.) The Bank Pasargad is establishing presence in India just when the Chabahar Port has been ‘operationalized’ and a first shipment from Brazil carrying 72458 tons of corn cargo berthed at the port terminal on December 30.
Brookings: India's Pursuit of Strategic and Economic Interests with Iran
India’s policy toward Iran is shaped largely by New Delhi’s aims of expanding its strategic influence beyond its neighborhood to become a global power. This relationship is governed by geopolitical and economic interests, which means for India access to energy, trade and regional connectivity. Iran is one of India’s main external energy sources. Delhi has sought to use its relations with Tehran to access markets and strengthen ties with Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing rival Pakistan. This includes investing via Iran’s Chabahar port. Delhi has also sought to enhance its relations with Tehran to mitigate Chinese and Pakistani regional influence. The multifaceted relationship between the two powers is anchored within a long history of cultural ties.
I'm putting some additional information below:CFR: US Pakistan Military Cooperation (2008)
Soon after Pakistan was founded in 1947, U.S. concerns about Soviet expansionism in the region and Pakistan’s desire for security assistance against a perceived threat from India prompted a military alliance between the two countries. Washington and Islamabad signed a mutual defense assistance agreement in 1954 and soon military aid started flowing into Pakistan1979 brought the military and the intelligence agencies of the United States and Pakistan into a partnership. Along with Saudi Arabia, they worked covertly to support the Afghan resistance, the mujahadeen, against the Soviets throughout the 1980s.
Amid a bitter rivalry with India, Pakistan became a nuclear power after testing its first bombs in 1998.Early YearsPakistan began its nuclear efforts during the 1950s as an energy program. It was prompted in large part by the United States’ “Atoms for Peace” program, which sought to spread nuclear energy technology across the globe. In 1956, the Pakistani government created the Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) to lead the new program. The United States gave Pakistan its first reactor—the five megawatt Pakistan Atomic Research Reactor (PARR-1)—in 1962.During this early period, PAEC chairman Ishrat Usmani devoted government resources to training the next generation of Pakistani scientists. Usmani founded the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Technology (PINSTECH) in 1965 and sent hundreds of young Pakistani students to be trained abroad.
Finally, keeping in mind the Pakistani ties to Saudi Arabia AND 9/11.UPDATE 4:05 pmSpeaking of 9/11? Check these links. Boy, oh boy do I remember 9/11.
Meanwhile, sources in the Middle East confirm that Atta and two other men wired more than $15,000 back to the United Arab Emirates just before the attacks -- what may have been leftover cash from the terrorism funds. The money went to a man who flew out of Dubai for Karachi, Pakistan, on September 11 -- the day of the attack. Atta sent $5,000, according to the sources. His Florida roommate, Marwan Al-shehhi, wired $5,400. A third man, Waleed Alshehri, sent slightly more than $5,200. The FBI has listed all three as being aboard the two planes hijacked in Boston and flown into the World Trade Center. Atta and Al-shehhi are thought to have been the pilots on those two jetliners. Officials in the United Arab Emirates have identified the recipient of those wire transfers as Mustapha Ahmad Al-Hawsawi. They are investigating whether he may have any ties to Al Qaeda, the terror network headed by bin Laden. The transfers took place September 8 and 9 -- only a couple days before the hijackings.
Lots of reading at the above link