PM Modi meets Iran's Pezeshkian at SCO; discusses West Asia war, trade expansion

PM Modi’s post on diversifying and expanding trade with Iran comes a week after the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan on Monday and said that both the countries want to “expand” and diversify” their trade basket in the future.

This was the first meeting between the two leaders in two years and also since the ongoing war between the United States and Iran erupted earlier this year.

Sharing a glimpse from the meeting, Modi wrote on X that both the leaders discussed ongoing tensions in the West Asia region which have the entire world in a chokehold and said that India will support all peace efforts.

Track live updates of SCO summit here

“Met President Masoud Pezeshkian in Bishkek. Reiterated our commitment to strengthening India’s long standing friendship with Iran across diverse sectors. We want to expand and diversify our trade basket in the times to come,” the Prime Minister wrote.

“We had a discussion on the prevailing situation in the region. India will continue to support all efforts aimed at ensuring lasting peace,” he added.

Indian firms sanctioned for trade with Iran

Iran and India have been longstanding trade partners. Modi’s post on diversifying and expanding trade with Iran comes a week after the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s economy, which included four Indian firms among those sanctioned for importing Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.

Also read: Four Indian firms among those sanctioned by US for Iran oil trade amid ‘Operation Economic Outcast’

The sanctions came a day after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a campaign — ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ — aimed at cutting off Iran’s sources of revenue and increasing the risk of secondary sanctions for entities doing business with Iran.

The four India-based firms that faced sanctions included customs broker Portease Partners LLP and its partners, Indrismiya Ashrafmiya Sheikh and Harish Ramachandra Rangi. According to the State Department, Portease “facilitated the import of multiple shipments of Iranian petrochemical products to India.”

India-US trade deal stuck?

Even as the trade deal between India and the United States remains under works, there has been little progress in the last month. In July, the commerce ministry said that India’s engagements with the US Trade Representative (USTR) helped secure a lower tariff for Indian goods.

It had also said that both nations were seeking an “early conclusion” of the planned bilateral trade agreement. However, there has not been any update since.

Nikita Sharma is a Senior Content Producer with Hindustan Times. She is a Delhi-based digital journalist with five years of experience writing and editing news stories across beats including crime, politics, tech, trends and much more, both national and international. At Hindustan Times, she is part of the news team and focuses on breaking news, keeping a track of what is happening where, and chasing ever-developing news stories. She has a penchant for covering crime, geopolitics, and Indian politics with a keen eye for stories often overlooked in the daily news cycle. At Hindustan Times, she has extensively covered several key events including the US Presidential elections, Air India plane crash, Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, US’ tariff war, and others. As a Delhi aficionado, she particularly enjoys roaming and writing about the national capital — its heritage, food, art and culture, and the many problems that come with it — the pollution, waterlogging, traffic, and more. Nikita did her Bachelor in Journalism and Mass Communication from GGSIPU and started working as a digital journalist in 2021. During her first stint, she covered hyperlocal news at a Delhi-based newsroom, writing and editing stories on builder-buyer conflicts, civic issues such as potholes, waterlogging, lack of facilities at hospitals in Delhi, crippling of the city during peak monsoon season. She also wrote features covering Delhi’s art exhibitions, heritage walks, artist profiles, museums, classical Hindustani music concerts and dance shows. She entered mainstream news in 2023 and has previously worked at NDTV.Read More