New Delhi, Feb 15: The explosion in the Israeli
Embassy car and the ensuing war of allegations between the two arch enemies –
Israel and Iran – has put India in a precarious situation whereby the
circumstances might force it to choose between either its key energy supplier
or important defence partner.
Israel and Iran – the all time foes, who
incidentally share good relations with India – are fighting their war in India’s
backyard now. Immediately after the blast that left the wife of an Israeli
diplomat critically injured, the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
pointed fingers at Iran for abetting the terrorist strike.
India so far has refused to take the bait and is treading
with utmost caution to not to get involved in the crossfire between the two countries.
Sources said that India has sought details from Georgia and Bangkok of the
recent blasts which Israel feels are interlinked.
India has given Israeli intelligence agency Mossad’s
team to come and carry out probe into the blast, however, it has refused to
carry out raids at the house of an Iranian diplomat, suspected by Tel Aviv to
have been involved in the blast.
The attack has exposed the chinks in India’s
security armour against terrorism as the bomb ripped through the car just 500
metres away from the Prime Minister’s residence without the Indian intelligence
agencies having a whiff of it. So far the sleuths have been walking down a dark
alley in search of clues. The Indian authorities are maintaining that the
investigation so far has not unraveled links of any country with the act.
“This is a delicate situation from India’s point of
view as it cannot afford to take sides with one country and yet it needs to
bring the perpetrators of the terrorist act to book or else it will be seen as
a soft ground to fight other countries war,” sources said.
Oil-rich Iran is crucial for meeting India’s growing
energy requirements. The Indo-Iran economic ties received a shot in the arm recently
after India worked out a mechanism to pay Iran in Rupees for increasing crude
oil import. For 2010-11, India’s total trade with Iran was equal to $13.67
billion, which included imports worth $10.92 billion and exports worth $2.74
billion.
On the other hand, Israel has soared to figure in
the top three defence exporters to India. In the last four years, the Jerusalem
state has supplied crucial weapons and platforms including Air-borne Early Warning
and Control System (AWACS) and crucial missile technology in the Long-Range
Surface to Air Missiles (LRSAMs).
India’s problem stems from the fact that Iran is yet
to recognize Israel as a sovereign state and Tel Aviv in turn has been opposing
Tehran’s nuclear programme. In fact speculations are rife that Israel is
covertly planning to bomb Iran’s nuclear development sites.
Even as the verbal onslaught is continuing between the
two countries, Israeli Ambassador Alon Usphiz met External Affairs Minister SM
Krishna on Wednesday evening to discuss the progress in the investigations so
far.
Post themeeting Usphiz said : “The meeting was a very good one. It is just another shining
example of support, friendship and intimacy that we have been lucky to be
exposed to in the last 48 hours since this very saddening vicious terrorist
attack on one of our people took place here in the heart of New Delhi.” Both
the parties refused to comment on what transpired in the meeting.
Meanwhile, Iran on Wednesday said that it was
looking towards India to verify the reality behind the attack.
“We are not accepting
or denying this,” Iranian Ambassador to India Mehdi Nabizadeh said in response
to allegations levelled by Israel.
Nabizadeh said: “We
hope that India verifies the case to know the real position. Till now their
final reaction has not come. We hope it will come.”
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