Abbas Araghchi lands in Delhi: Should India let Iran act as a mediator between India, Pakistan?

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in New Delhi on Thursday on a scheduled visit which will see him hold wide-ranging talks with high-ranking officials, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. While the visit was scheduled before India launched Operation Sindoor, a mission targeting airstrikes on terror sites in Pakistan, it is expected that the conflict between the countries would feature in Araghchi's agenda. 

 

Before he embarked on his Delhi trip, Araghchi had asked India and Pakistan to "exercise restraint" to prevent an escalation and expressed willingness to mediate between New Delhi and Islamabad. While the two foreign ministers may deliberate on the topic, especially India's response to the Pahalgam attack, a foreign expert has warned that India shouldn't encourage Iran to mediate. 

 

Former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, who boasts 41 years of experience in diplomacy, believes India shouldn't encourage any mediation effort from the part of Iran as it has zero credentials for this. He also warned against opening doors for Iran towards mediation, "as others too will get into the act". 

 

"Araghchi is welcome to visit India on a purely bilateral basis, not in any mediatory effort. Iran has no credentials for this. Its Supreme Leader has made references to Kashmir, and the joint statement on the Iranian President’s visit to Pakistan a few months ago mentioned J&K. We protested on both occasions. We should let it be known in advance publicly that any mediation is not on the agenda," Kanwal posted on X. 

 

He said that mediation would also overlook the central issue of Pakistan’s complicity in terror and shift the focus to avoiding a conflict. He said the issue of Pakistani terrorism remains unresolved.   

Also read: How Pakistan is actively wooing Iranian leaders to mediate with India

While Iran issued a statement in August 2019 criticising the abrogation of Article 370, Tehran was also not happy about India succumbing to pressure from the West to impose sanctions on it. 

 

But, now that bilateral relations have improved, Tehran believes it would fit the role of a mediator considering its geographic proximity with Pakistan and historic relationship and bilateral relations with India, which have vastly improved over the years. Iran claims that, unlike many other nations, it seeks to remain neutral and not directly engage in internal disputes of its neighbours.  

 

For Iran to be a successful mediator, it would need to maintain a delicate balance, which involves agreeing with India's demand to respond to the attacks.  

Middle East