Israel wants India to lessen dependence on Iran

Ashwin_Sharma

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Tel Aviv wants to partner New Delhi to explore Mediterranean gas reserves

Nudging India to lessen dependence on hydrocarbon imports from Iran, Israel has indicated that it is keen to offer New Delhi favourable terms both for partnership in production from its new-found natural gas reserves in Mediterranean Sea as well as for sale of the produce.

Days after Tel Aviv blamed Tehran for the blast on an Israeli Embassy official here, the Jewish country's Minister for National Infrastructure, Uzi Landau, on Wednesday nudged India to move towards lessening its dependence on Iran and cited the instance of Israel to drive home the point that New Delhi could indeed explore alternative sources to meet its energy needs and consider buying more hydrocarbons from open market.

Landau called on Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, S Jaipal Reddy, on Tuesday and held discussions on the prospects of energy partnership between his country and India.

He, however, said that Tel Aviv had not yet made any specific offer to New Delhi, as it was yet to frame its policy on production and export of natural gas from Leviathan and Tamar reserves in Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel. "We will however like to boost our energy partnership with India and we will of course offer favourable terms to the countries that are friendly to Israel," he said.

While fresh US sanctions is likely to make it difficult for India to pay for the crude oil it imports from Iran, Tel Aviv's allegation against Tehran after the February 15 blast on the car of the Israeli Embassy here added to the pressure on New Delhi to slash its energy ties with Tehran.

Landau's is the first visit by a high-level dignitary from Tel Aviv after the blast injured Tal Yehoshua, the wife of Chief Security Officer of Israeli Embassy in New Delhi. Yehoshua, who herself is also an employee of the Israeli Embassy, was initially admitted to a hospital in New Delhi, but was later flown to Tel Aviv. She is now recuperating in Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

The Israeli Minister called on National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and held discussions on the investigations into the blast.

"We are highly impressed with the level of professionalism and commitment of the investigators and authorities in India and are satisfied with the probe,” Landau told a group of journalists on Wednesday. He said that Israel would share any information investigators in India might need and would also like to offer any other assistance if required.

Though New Delhi did not echo Tel Aviv to blame Tehran for the February 13 blast, the visiting Israeli Minister on Wednesday reiterated that the Government of the Jewish country had deep conviction that it was the "long arm" of the regime in Iran that was behind the incident.

Israel wants India to lessen dependence on Iran
 
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Tronic

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Israel is a good partner but there is no way they can replace Iran! Iran is a strategic partner for India.
 
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Israel is a good partner but there is no way they can replace Iran! Iran is a strategic partner for India.
Strategic partner maybe too strong a term I think that's reserved exclusively to US and Russia and Israel.
Iran has been useless or an enemy in the 4 wars against Pakistan.,arming Pakistan against India in a few.
 

Tronic

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Strategic partner maybe too strong a term I think that's reserved exclusively to US and Russia and Israel.
What strategic benefit does Israel offer to India? Israel itself is so isolated at the world stage and has very little to offer. It's a good place to shop for gadgets and to get training, but its strategic value to India is zero.

Heck, Even the Americans haven't figured out if Israel is a strategic ally or a burden.

Iran is much more strategic than Israel. It's location alone warrants it.

Iran has been useless or an enemy in the 4 wars against Pakistan.,arming Pakistan against India in a few.
Not Iran, that was the US. :)

Iran did not "arm" Pakistan, the US did.

The US channeled their weapons through Iran, since at the time Iran had a US-puppet at the helm, the Shah.

The Iran of today is not the same US puppet, which helped Pakistan, of yesterday.
 
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mayfair

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What strategic benefit does Israel offer to India? Israel itself is so isolated at the world stage and has very little to offer. It's a good place to shop for gadgets and to get training, but its strategic value to India is zero.
How do you define strategic? Normally I would avoid being pedantic, but strategy is "a plan of action designed to achieve a vision" and strategic refers to any attempt/action aimed at realising a strategy.

We have plans to modernise and upgrade our defence equipment and shore up our R&D facilities in that aspect. This is our strategy. Our cooperation with Israel (one among others) is aimed at realising that strategy, those plans and visions. Isn't that strategic?

India and Israel have also extensively collaborated in the field of agriculture- especially use of modern tools and implements and effective irrigation plans for water-stressed regions. Hasn't this been a strategy/plan/vision of the government to make our agriculture more resource efficient?

Or if it's energy resources you are fussed about, we are likely to contemplate sourcing some of our natural gas requirements from Israel, to diversify our energy sources and help our economy progress. Isn't that a part of our strategy?

Back to topic, our relations with Israel and Iran should be purely defined in terms of our interests. As long as either does us no harm, there is no reason for us to pick sides just because the "mighty" Khan wants us to.
 
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pmaitra

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  • We need Israel for our weapons. Israel stood by us at times when no one was willing to supply us with 5.56mm ammunition.
  • We also need Iran. We desperately need oil and cannot afford to choose to dictate terms at oil rich countries. We don't have KSA in our pockets like the US does. Iran stood by us when most of the Muslim countries sided with Pakistan on Kashmir.


This calls for a skillful balancing act.
 

Ashwin_Sharma

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What strategic benefit does Israel offer to India? Israel itself is so isolated at the world stage and has very little to offer. It's a good place to shop for gadgets and to get training, but its strategic value to India is zero.

Heck, Even the Americans haven't figured out if Israel is a strategic ally or a burden.

Iran is much more strategic than Israel. It's location alone warrants it.



Not Iran, that was the US. :)

Iran did not "arm" Pakistan, the US did.

The US channeled their weapons through Iran, since at the time Iran had a US-puppet at the helm, the Shah.

The Iran of today is not the same US puppet, which helped Pakistan, of yesterday.
Well i disagree because besides the fuel Iran has got nothing to offer us; and Pakistan has been clever enough to foster deeper relations with Iran. From the religious point of view they definetly are going to be finally against Israel, (regardless of the Shia/Sunni sided coin) with the rest of the Islamic world. Meanwhile Israel has got high-end tech to offer us and despite not being larger than Nepal .. umm well they definetly are powerful enough to defend themselves AND others WITHOUT U.S. INTERVENTION. An Alliance with them will increase their chances of survival, and for us we can become independent in production of highly sophisticated weapon systems with their help. We can also help them with our advances in space-tech.

For now, we must remain neutral about it and have good relations with Iran, until they decide they are powerful ( and crazy enough ) to go against us. we still may have Russia and Saudis to supply fuel.
 

Ray

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Not a bad idea.

Has Israel a plan to compensate our loss?
 

asianobserve

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Not a bad idea.

Has Israel a plan to compensate our loss?

What loss? I think India is bound to gain from joint gas exploration project... of course India must make sure that the gas claim is true and there's sufficient deposit for a profitable venture over many years.
 

Tronic

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Well i disagree because besides the fuel Iran has got nothing to offer us;
Look again.

Iran is our sole option for a gateway to Central Asia. Not only does that mean that we get access to Iran's oil, but also to CAR's oil. Furthermore, Afghanistan is sitting on top of trillions of dollars worth of resources. Imports aside, Central Asia is also a potential market for Indian goods, unless you wish to completely surrender that to China, or hope and pray that someday Pakistan gives you transit rights. :rolleyes:

and Pakistan has been clever enough to foster deeper relations with Iran.
Too bad these "deep" relations didn't keep Iran from going against the Pakistani position and supporting India on the Kashmir issue.

Moreover, Pakistan has even been attempting to develop ties with Israel.

Such is the nature of geopolitics!

From the religious point of view they definetly are going to be finally against Israel, (regardless of the Shia/Sunni sided coin) with the rest of the Islamic world.
Very idealistic view. That's not how geopolitics works.

Hell, the Saudis are itching for someone to bomb Iran even more than the Israelis!

Meanwhile Israel has got high-end tech to offer us and despite not being larger than Nepal .. umm well they definetly are powerful enough to defend themselves AND others WITHOUT U.S. INTERVENTION. An Alliance with them will increase their chances of survival, and for us we can become independent in production of highly sophisticated weapon systems with their help. We can also help them with our advances in space-tech.
Highly doubt the Israelis are interested in anything more than money.

They have already shown their willingness to arm China with the same high end weapons they sell to India.

For now, we must remain neutral about it and have good relations with Iran,
I agree, we should stay neutral.

until they decide they are powerful ( and crazy enough ) to go against us. we still may have Russia and Saudis to supply fuel.
Pointless rhetoric.

Ironic how you talk of hostility towards Iran, a country which has largely been pro-India for the last 3 decades, and look towards the Saudis, a country which has largely funded terrorism and extremists in the region, for fuel.

I think you should try to see things from an Indian angle, rather than looking through a western world view.
 

Tronic

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What loss? I think India is bound to gain from joint gas exploration project... of course India must make sure that the gas claim is true and there's sufficient deposit for a profitable venture over many years.
Iranian oil, CAR oil, plus: Minerals in Afghanistan worth $1 trillion, U.S. says - CNN (India has already won one $11 billion contract to extract these minerals).

These seem a lot surer and better option than the gas which "might" be under Israel.
 

Ray

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What loss? I think India is bound to gain from joint gas exploration project... of course India must make sure that the gas claim is true and there's sufficient deposit for a profitable venture over many years.

Loss if it agrees to Israeli advice!

As simple as that!
 

Tronic

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How do you define strategic? Normally I would avoid being pedantic, but strategy is "a plan of action designed to achieve a vision" and strategic refers to any attempt/action aimed at realising a strategy.

We have plans to modernise and upgrade our defence equipment and shore up our R&D facilities in that aspect. This is our strategy. Our cooperation with Israel (one among others) is aimed at realising that strategy, those plans and visions. Isn't that strategic?

India and Israel have also extensively collaborated in the field of agriculture- especially use of modern tools and implements and effective irrigation plans for water-stressed regions. Hasn't this been a strategy/plan/vision of the government to make our agriculture more resource efficient?

Or if it's energy resources you are fussed about, we are likely to contemplate sourcing some of our natural gas requirements from Israel, to diversify our energy sources and help our economy progress. Isn't that a part of our strategy?

Back to topic, our relations with Israel and Iran should be purely defined in terms of our interests. As long as either does us no harm, there is no reason for us to pick sides just because the "mighty" Khan wants us to.
I'm not saying that we should dump one over the other.

I'm merely stating that Israel cannot replace Iran.

Israel may be important in some factors, but Iran too is a very important country in other factors. We can upgrade all our defences we want, but when it comes to fighting the Taliban and establishing an Indian road to CAR; it is Iran who we will need to stand by us. They are both important, but, IMO, Iran is a bigger strategic necessity at the moment.

If India can save the government in Kabul through the help of Iran, than that will be a major strategic victory for India in denying Pakistan operating space to spread it's terror labs. It will prevent another IC-814, which was effectively an ISI sponsored plot routed through to Afghanistan to create deniability of Pakistani involvement. Moreover, the Iranians have already been on our side in support of the Northern Alliance, and while we provided medical facilities in support of the NA, the Iranians actually flew air missions dropping supplies for the NA fighters.
 

amitkriit

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Loss if it agrees to Israeli advice!

As simple as that!
Sir, Israel is milking India through defence supplies, their systems are good, but their prices are astronomical.
They are doing business with us, we must do the same to them.
 

mayfair

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I'm not saying that we should dump one over the other.

I'm merely stating that Israel cannot replace Iran.

Israel may be important in some factors, but Iran too is a very important country in other factors. We can upgrade all our defences we want, but when it comes to fighting the Taliban and establishing an Indian road to CAR; it is Iran who we will need to stand by us. They are both important, but, IMO, Iran is a bigger strategic necessity at the moment.

If India can save the government in Kabul through the help of Iran, than that will be a major strategic victory for India in denying Pakistan operating space to spread it's terror labs. It will prevent another IC-814, which was effectively an ISI sponsored plot routed through to Afghanistan to create deniability of Pakistani involvement. Moreover, the Iranians have already been on our side in support of the Northern Alliance, and while we provided medical facilities in support of the NA, the Iranians actually flew air missions dropping supplies for the NA fighters.
Fully agree. Neither can replace each other as far as our interests are concerned, rather they complement each other. We should not dump either of them as long as it is not in our interests to do so. If the rest of the world has refused to respect and consider our concerns when it comes to China and Pakistan, why the heck should we allay their fears (real and imaginary)?

As amritkit and others have pointed out, there's no charity involved. We pay (and quite well at that) for what we buy from them.
 

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