Summary

India won't be dragged into Iran war, but can't stay indifferent: Shashi Tharoor While India is unlikely to enter the conflict in the Middle East militarily, the repercussions are already being felt, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, particularly by Indian nationals living and working in the Gulf states. India will not be drawn into the ongoing war in the Middle East, but the conflict is already having serious consequences for the country and its citizens abroad, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told India Today TV. In an exclusive conversation with Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai as US-Israel's war on Iran entered the seventh day, Tharoor stated that New Delhi’s priority should be pushing for a ceasefire at the earliest. “It is very much in India’s interest to demand de-escalation and diplomacy,” Tharoor said. While India is unlikely to enter the conflict militarily, the repercussions are already being felt, he said, particularly by Indian nationals living and working in the Gulf states. He highlighted the plight of those who were stranded at airports due to projectiles flying overhead as well as business-owners impacted due to the outbreak of war. “We are a country with nine to ten million of our nationals in the Gulf. For us, this is something that really does affect their lives and their ability to do well, send remittances home, all of that. So we can't be indifferent,” he said. THAROOR’S TAKE ON US OIL WAIVER Tharoor’s remarks come amid political sparring after the US announced a 30-day waiver "allowing" India to continue purchasing Russian oil. The move by the Donald Trump administration is aimed at stabilising global energy markets as tensions in the Middle East drive uncertainty in oil supplies. Opposition parties have lashed out at the government over the waiver, questioning whether it undermines India’s sovereignty. Asked whether New Delhi should send a tough message to Washington, Tharoor said the government faces difficult economic realities. “The problem is the consequences if we don't. For the companies that are purchasing Russian oil and putting it into their refineries, without that waiver they get subject to sanctions which effect on all their businesses. So there is, to my mind, a choice that has to be made,” he said. The Congress MP pointed out that the waiver would provide significant relief to Indian refiners, without risking sanctions. “With that waiver, they can openly purchase for those 30 days, knowing that those purchases will be exempt from any negative consequences for their companies,” he said. Despite his own party’s criticism of the government’s approach to Washington, Tharoor said policy choices must be evaluated in terms of national interest. Ultimately, he added, India's interest is in ending the conflict as soon as possible. ‘RESPECT THE CHOICES GOVT HAS MADE’ Asked whether India should take a principled stand on the conflict or choose not to antagonise the mercurial Trump, he remarked, “I think you really have to respect the choices the government has made as choices that they deem at that point to be in the best interests of India, given that there would be consequences for other choices,” he said. A career diplomat, Tharoor noted that New Delhi has tried to strike a careful balance at a fraught time. While India hasn't endorsed the US-Israeli military action against Iran, it has also not condemned it. Pointing to the cautious positions taken by several other countries, Tharoor said restraint can sometimes be a deliberate diplomatic strategy. "We have kept open lines of communication to Iran and we have expressed a hope that matters will be resolved very quickly. That seems to be the choice that we have made," he said. Critics often underestimate the practical constraints governments face when taking public positions in international conflicts, he remarked. "So I find it difficult to sit here outside the government and say, I want the government to say all these things because the government then has to live with the consequences," the Congress leader said. Ultimately, he added, “India's interest is in ending this war as soon as possible.” ON TRUMP’S JUSTIFICATION FOR WAR On the broader justification for the war, Tharoor poked holes into US and Israeli claims that their joint operation against Iran was pre-emptive. “The logic of pre-emptive self-defence, which is something that has been cited by apologists for this war saying that if we hadn't done it, the Iranians would have developed a nuclear weapon and attacked us first, doesn't really hold up when the Omani negotiators who've been mediating talks between the Americans and the Iranians claimed that the Iranians had already agreed to no nukes, zero enriched uranium stockpiles, and other steps that would have essentially eliminated the threat of a nuclear weapon from Iran,” he said. Tharoor also warned against writing off international institutions like the United Nations, even as the conflict exposes their limitations. “The fact is international law is now being buffeted about by those who have the power to disregard its consequences, but that doesn't mean the UN is out of the window,” he said. In the same breath, he acknowledged that the UN is "congenitally, chronically unable to act in a situation where a permanent member is on the warpath". A global forum like the UN can be of use to India and to the rest of the world on various other issues, so it shouldn't be discarded, he said.