International

IIE Digital Desk : India's decision to allow Iran to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has put New Delhi in a tight spot. The SCO is a security bloc of China, Russia, and four Central Asian countries, and its expansion to include Iran is seen as a victory for the anti-West bloc. India has traditionally had close ties to the United States and other Western countries, but it has also been courting closer ties with China and Russia in recent years. The SCO membership of Iran is likely to complicate India's balancing act between the two blocs.

On the one hand, India needs to maintain good relations with the United States in order to secure access to advanced military technology and other resources. On the other hand, India also needs to maintain good relations with China and Russia in order to ensure its economic and security interests in the region. The SCO membership of Iran will make it more difficult for India to balance its relations between the two blocs. India will need to develop a "super balancing" strategy in order to keep all blocks happy. This will require India to be more active in the SCO and to work with Iran on issues of common interest.