India and Iran as two ancient civilisations have historically shared cordial relations with some occasional challenges. One such challenge in recent years came up when Iran was placed under international economic and political sanctions due to its nuclear programme. These sanctions, especially the unilateral ones, also had adverse implications on India-Iran bilateral ties. This posed several challenges for Indian foreign policy and diplomacy towards maintaining its relationship with Iran. While evaluating the implications of sanctions on India-Iran bilateral ties, this book chronicles India’s efforts to maintain its relation with Iran despite such challenges. Asif Shuja: Dr. Asif Shuja is a Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi. He has also worked as a Research Associate in the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), New Delhi on a research project pertaining to the Iranian Nuclear Programme. Dr. Shuja has done his Ph.D. on Iran’s Domestic Political Power Struggle from the Centre for West Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His research expertise includes the Domestic Politics of Iran, the Iranian Nuclear Issue and India-Iran Relations. He has published a number of research papers and articles on a wide range of subjects pertaining to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Contents Acknowledgement Preface ix 1. Introduction 2. The Iranian Nuclear Controversy 3. India-US Nuclear Deal and India’s Vote against Iran 4. UNSC Sanctions on Iran 5. Severity of Sanctions and India’s Predicaments 6. India’s Participation in the 16th NAM Summit in Tehran 7. Election of Rouhani and the Changed Equations 8. The Iran Nuclear Deal and its Implications 9. India-Iran Commercial Ties after Lifting of Sanctions 10. The Way Forward Bibliography