4 min readMar 9, 2026 11:30 AM IST
First published on: Mar 9, 2026 at 11:30 AM IST
The US-Israel combined attack on Iran raises a few pertinent questions: Why would small or relatively weaker states be strategic partners with powerful non-Western countries, or join groupings that promise to protect their interests? Is the world “multipolar” at all? What is the significance of international organisations if they fail to stop the selective killings of the civilian population during war? These and related questions are not new to students of Political Science and International Relations. The ongoing wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East support the notion that even today, it is a powerful regional or global actor that decides the fate of the weaker populations of the world.
India and China separately claim to be leaders of the Global South. Both are global economic and military powers. However, their bilateral political differences and disputes keep them at a distance. In 2024, after the meeting between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, the two countries began resetting their ties. In 2025, PM Modi was in China to attend the SCO summit.
After Iran was attacked, China condemned the killing of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and co-sponsored an emergency UN Security Council meeting along with Bahrain, France, Russia, and Colombia, demanding a ceasefire and urging the parties to return to talks. India expressed “deep concerns” about the situation in the Middle East and called for dialogue to resolve it. However, there are many unanswered questions putting the Indian leadership in a tough spot. The first is the attack on Iran, which began a day after PM Modi’s visit to Israel ended. In Tel Aviv, addressing the Knesset, Modi condemned the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on the Israeli people and said, “India stands with Israel firmly, with full conviction, in this moment and beyond.” The attack by Hamas was followed by the killing of thousands of innocent Palestinians, including children, by Israeli forces.
More serious than the visit is the sinking of an Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, killing more than 80 sailors, by a US Navy submarine in the Indian Ocean. The IRIS Dena was returning after participating in India’s multilateral MILAN 2026 naval exercise in Visakhapatnam. In a television interview, a former US Army Colonel, Douglas MacGregor, claimed that the US was using Indian naval bases in its war against Iran. New Delhi, however, has denied such a claim. Notably, India and the USA have LEMOA (2016), COMCASA (2018) and BECA (2020) agreements. Whatever New Delhi says about the IRIS Dena, the ship was the Indian Navy’s guest, and the area where it was sunk falls under India’s regional sphere. India’s reaction to the sinking, its dealings with the Trump administration since 2025, and its ambiguous position on the Middle East situation raise questions about its foreign policy choices and strategic autonomy.
The attack on Iran also raises questions about the efficacy and willingness of groupings peddling the interests of the Global South, such as BRICS, to protect their members. Iran joined BRICS in January 2024. Earlier, Iran was asked to withdraw from the BRICS Plus maritime exercise, “Will for Peace 2026”, held at the Port of Simon’s Town, South Africa, in January 2026. South Africa asked it to withdraw from the drill in an attempt to obtain concessions from Donald Trump’s administration in the wake of his threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on countries doing business with Iran. Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, and Ethiopia sent observers, while India stayed out. India is the chair of BRICS and will host the summit later this year. As the chair of the BRICS, India has a responsibility towards the member states.
The current global situation may raise a trust crisis between small and powerful countries in the Global South. Smaller countries may question the logic of establishing close ties with leading Global South states or becoming part of the organisations they lead if their interests and even the survival of the regime largely depend on ties with the US. The crisis may not end the idea and imagination of the political Global South, but it is certain to have an impact on it.
The writer is a Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore
