India should become an ally of Israel

A war wages in Iran, yet New Delhi seems to lack a consistent Middle East policy. Days before the United States and Israel attacked Iran, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel, which was construed as India’s tilt towards the alliance. Our refusal to condemn the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei strengthened the perception. But, when the LPG crisis deepened, New Delhi made overtures to Tehran, which were accepted; Iran’s clerical regime placed India in the group of ‘friendly’ nations. So, where should we stand? A nation aspiring to become a global power can ill afford to evade this question.

Further, the answer cannot be non-alignment, or its new avatar, ‘strategic autonomy.’ The answer is simple: an alliance with Israel. To be sure, Israel has always treated us as an ally, even though for more than four decades we refused to have full diplomatic relations. Israel gave us critical ammunition during the 1962 War and the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Seven years after full diplomatic ties were established, Israel helped us during the 1999 Kargil conflict.

In the last few years, India-Israel defence ties have grown immensely, with India emerging as Israel’s largest defence customer. We have purchased missiles, radars, drones, and electronic warfare systems. We deployed Harop and Harpy drones during Operation Sindoor in May 2025—to good effect.

During Modi’s February 2026 visit, both nations decided to upgrade defence ties from a buyer-seller relationship to co-development. The upgrade will acquire greater salience if the ties are accorded the sanctity of an alliance.

Those who favor non-alignment—and, by extension, the present confusion—say that Iran has supported India diplomatically in the past. That is correct to some extent, but it is also true that Khamenei made adverse remarks about India more than once, often eliciting diplomatic protests from New Delhi. In 2017, he appealed to the Muslim world to support the “oppressed Muslims of Kashmir.” Opposing the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, he harangued New Delhi to adopt a “just policy” on Kashmir. During the January 2020 stir over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Iran’s Parliament speaker ranted against “anti-Muslim discrimination” in India.

On the other hand, it is hard to find a single instance of Israel berating India over any issue.

Terrorism being a challenge that both India and Israel face, they have already been collaborating with each other in intelligence gathering and devising counter-terrorism strategies. “Israel has become one of the foremost users of AI in live conflict zones. During its 2023 Gaza operations, Israeli defence forces employed systems such as ‘Lavender’, ‘Where’s Daddy’, and ‘The Gospel’ for real-time surveillance, target selection, and operational decision-making, marking a momentous evolution in algorithmic warfare,” according to Soumya Awasthi, a fellow with the Centre for Security, Strategy, and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation.

Indo-Israeli relations are not confined to defence and security; agriculture is one of the many areas in which both nations cooperate with and benefit from each other. India has a bilateral agreement with Israel for cooperation in agriculture, which includes horticulture development and fruit production. Under this collaboration, the Indo-Israel Agricultural Project (IIAP) has facilitated the establishment of Centres of Excellence across various states. These CoEs incorporate Israeli technology and know-how to enhance productivity, improve water use efficiency, and ensure quality produce. This has great importance for agriculture in our country, especially in rainfed regions.

Given Israel’s excellence in cutting-edge technologies and innovation, India can cooperate, among others, in AI, cybersecurity, and space exploration. On its part, Israel can tap into India’s talent pool in technology.

A proper alliance with Israel will be the natural outcome of broadening and deepening bilateral ties. It needs to be mentioned here that in 2017, during Modi’s visit to Israel, both countries elevated their relationship to a Strategic Partnership. “Since then, our engagement has expanded in scale and scope. And we are committed to further consolidate this relationship across many sectors,” PM Modi said in his address to Knesset (Israeli Parliament) on February 25.

There was a time when India’s relationship with Israel was viewed from a perspective that was heavily influenced by the attitude of Muslims and Arabs. Now, when Abraham Accords are normalizing Israel’s relations with Muslim nations, there is no contradiction between India having good ties simultaneously with the Jewish state and Muslim nations.

India and Israel not only share national interests but also ideas, ideals, and values. Both are democracies, Israel being the only genuine one in the Middle East. Both are anathema to jihadists. An alliance will help both nations fight radical Islam better.

Therefore, neither practical factors nor idealistic considerations stop the two countries from becoming allies; only doctrinaire rigidities and non-alignment shibboleths do. That is, rigidities and shibboleths on our part. India must discard the baggage of the Nehruvian era if it wants to become a global power.

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