India’s Modi Visits Jerusalem as Israelis Anticipate a Renewed Iran War

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a first-ever Indian leader’s address to the Knesset, is signaling a shift in relations between New Delhi and Jerusalem. Significantly, the premier’s two-day Israel visit is occurring while the country is on edge, anticipating a possible clash with the Islamic Republic of Iran. As Mr. Modi spoke of deepening ties, 12 American top-performing fighter jets landed at the Uvda airbase in southern Israel. The unprecedented arrival of the F-22s, coupled with the presence in the Mediterranean of a strike group led by the carrier Gerald Ford raised speculation in Israel that an American strike on Iran is nearing fast. “My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy, but one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon,” President Trump said at the State of the Union speech Tuesday night.The president spoke about Tehran’s efforts to reinstitute its damaged nuclear program, as well as about “these terrible people” who murdered 32,000 protesters and have amassed a ballistic missile arsenal that he says “will soon reach the United States.” It sounded as a first attempt to prepare the American people to the possibility of a coming military action in the Gulf.But not quite yet. No action is expected before Mr. Modi, the leader of the world’s most populous country, leaves the region. His scheduled Thursday departure will coincide with the conclusion of a last ditch meeting at Geneva between American and Iranian diplomats. The timing of Mr. Modi’s arrival in Israel seemed like a break with long-term Indian foreign policy. For Israel, the visit marked a rare unifying moment in a contentious election year. Even as opposition party members boycotted Prime Minister Netanyahu’s welcoming remarks on Thursday, they returned to their Knesset seats for the Indian guest’s speech. “It’s outstanding that he came here this week,” a former Israeli ambassador to India, Daniel Carmon, tells the Sun. Delhi, he notes, maintains good relations with Tehran even as Mr. Modi is cultivating and deepening ties with Israel, so “the mere fact that he’s here this week is a departure from a tradition of a carefully balanced foreign policy.” India “stands with Israel firmly, with full conviction, in this moment, and beyond,” Mr. Modi said in his speech. He came, he added, “as a representative of one ancient civilization addressing another.” Mr. Modi was one of the first world leaders to condemn the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Countering such atrocities, he said, “requires sustained and coordinated global action, because terrorism anywhere threatens peace everywhere.” In their speeches, Mr. Modi praised the growing number of Israelis who practice yoga, while Mr. Netanyahu suggested a joint Bollywood movie about the two countries’ bilateral relations. Mr. Netanayhu has long cultivated his friendship with Mr. Modi. He sees India as a cornerstone of his vision, creating an Asian, Mideastern, African and European bloc to counter the region’s extremists. “Our two countries are at the peak of their power,” he said in his welcoming speech.“Israel is stronger than ever, and India is stronger than ever.” Mr. Modi agreed. India, he noted, will soon be “among the top three economies globally. At the same time, Israel is a powerhouse of innovation and technological leadership.”Mr. Modi spoke of a 2022 initiative to promote investment and economic ties between India, the United Arab Emirates, and America, known as the I2U2 group. Another plan, the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, is a trade route from Mumbai to Dubai to the Israeli port of Haifa and and from there to Piraeus, Greece, and the rest of Europe. IMEC, though, is “still an idea whose time has not come,” the executive editor of Hindustan Times, Shishir Gupta, tells the Sun. As Iran tensions rise in the region, a would-be IMEC pillar, Saudi Arabia, hesitates to join an alliance with Israel at the expense of Palestinians. With that in mind, Mr. Modi said that India believes in a “just and durable peace for all the people of the region, including by addressing the Palestine issue.” Despite such hitches, he added, “India will soon celebrate the festival of Holi, filled with happiness and color. And around the same time, Israel will also celebrate Purim with enthusiasm and joy.” Jews will celebrate that ancient victory over a Persian plot to annihilate them on Monday. Will Purim also mark the beginning of the end of the Iranian regime that keeps announcing its intent to do the same?

India’s Modi Visits Jerusalem as Israelis Anticipate a Renewed Iran War

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