Impact of the Current War Situation on India

March 4, 2026

Although India has no direct connection to the US-Israel-initiated war against Iran, following Khamenei’s death, Shia Muslim followers living in India were seen protesting and crying in the streets. A lathi charge was used to disperse their demonstration in Srinagar. Khamenei’s leadership was a staunch Islamic leadership. While we want to remain friendly with Iran and develop the Chabahar port as our trade route, everything remains uncertain at this time. It was natural for the Shia community to be outraged by Khamenei’s death.

There were also incidents of violence in Karachi, Pakistan, and nearly two dozen people were killed. However, the miracle of Indian democracy is that all the protests taking place here are peaceful. While a section of the public in Iran is happy with Khamenei’s death, a section in India may also feel the same way, as Khamenei has always supported Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. Furthermore, they were aiding and abetting terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels.

This is directly and indirectly impacting India as well.

Currently, Iraq has expressed its support for Iran, and Russia and China are also verbally supporting Iran. On the other hand, the United States is receiving tacit support from Canada. This could be considered an attempt to improve relations. Canada also wants to improve relations with India. India can never directly support Iran because, as a non-violent country, it can never support countries that support terrorist organizations or religious fanaticism.

Even if radical Iran is completely defeated in this war, India’s stance as a country that does not support terrorism will remain. However, no country can be completely destroyed in such wars. On Monday, targets belonging to a senior Hezbollah commander were attacked, and Iranian forces also launched attacks in Israel, but this is creating a potential for the war to drag on, and peace and dialogue seem a distant dream.