‘Use India’s Extensive Contacts’: Iran's Pezeshkian Asks PM Modi To Pull Warring Sides Back From Warpath - News18

**India’s Diplomatic Leverage Put to Test as Tehran Appeals for Mediation**

*New Delhi –* On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Iranian senior official Masoud Pezeshkian, who appealed to India to employ its “extensive contacts” to help de‑escalate the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Pezeshkian, representing Tehran’s diplomatic corps, underscored that India’s long‑standing ties with both Israel and the Arab world, as well as its strategic relationships across Asia, Africa and the Gulf, position New Delhi uniquely to act as a quiet conduit for dialogue. “We ask India to use its broad network to bring the warring sides back from the warpath,” the Iranian envoy said, a sentiment echoed by several regional observers who view India as a potential neutral broker.

During the brief but substantive talks, Prime Minister Modi highlighted India’s interest in expanding trade and energy cooperation with Iran, noting recent progress on the Chabahar port project and renewed discussions on oil and gas imports. While reaffirming India’s principled stance of respecting sovereign rights and encouraging a cease‑fire, Modi stopped short of promising any formal mediation, instead offering to convey Tehran’s concerns to relevant parties and to keep diplomatic channels open. Analysts from *ThePrint* and *The Wire* interpreted the exchange as a diplomatic balancing act: India seeks to deepen economic ties with Tehran without jeopardising its strategic partnership with Israel and the United States.

The meeting comes amid heightened international pressure for a negotiated settlement to the Gaza‑Israel war, which has drawn condemnation, humanitarian concerns and a growing risk of regional spill‑over. Iranian officials, as reported by *NDTV* and *Rediff*, view India’s “extensive contacts”—including its historic engagement with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), its role in the Non‑Aligned Movement, and personal rapport between senior leaders—as a valuable asset for back‑channel talks. Whether New Delhi will translate this diplomatic overture into actionable mediation remains uncertain, but the episode underscores India’s expanding diplomatic responsibilities in a turbulent geopolitical landscape.

---