How Iran & Israel Went From Allies to Enemies—and Where India Stands

There is a peculiar cruelty in the fact that Iran and Israel were once allies. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the two countries shared intelligence, trade, and quiet mutual respect. What replaced that relationship was something far uglier — decades of proxy warfare, targeted assassinations, shadow operations, and the kind of existential rhetoric that has a way of eventually making itself true.

For years, Iran armed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, funding the groups with missiles, money, and training. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini directed fierce criticism at Israel for its occupation of Palestinian territories.

Israel, for its part, blew up Iranian nuclear scientists, sabotaged centrifuges with cyber weapons, and bombed Iranian assets in Syria.

Neither side formally declared war but they acted like that only. It was only a matter of time before the shadows gave way to something louder.

The crux of the entire conflict is, and has always been, uranium.

Nuclear Question and Escalation

In 2015, world powers negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — the JCPOA — with Iran. Under this, Iran would limit its enrichment activities, the world would lift sanctions, and inspectors would keep watch.

Then, in 2018, Donald Trump tore it up. Without the agreement's constraints, Iran began stockpiling enriched uranium.

By June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran had accumulated enough enriched uranium to produce nine nuclear warheads. On 12 June 2025, the IAEA formally declared Iran non-compliant with its nuclear obligations for the first time in two decades.

The following morning, Israel acted with Operation Rising Lion, and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling Iran's nuclear ambitions a "clear and present danger to Israel's very survival".

Iran reacted with over 550 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 suicide drones.

After the ceasefire, Iran started rebuilding its nuclear ambitions. By February 2026, Iran had also reportedly reconstituted its medium-range ballistic missile stockpile to near pre-war levels.

February 28: War Returns

The ceasefire's shelf life has expired. On 28 February 2026, Israel and the US launched coordinated strikes on Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, and other cities, targeting Khamenei, President Pezeshkian, and what remained of Iran's nuclear and military apparatus.

Trump confirmed "major combat operations" had begun, framing the assault as eliminating threats to American interests and allies. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have since launched retaliatory missile barrages at Israel, and Iranian missiles have struck US military bases across the Gulf — in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the UAE.

India's Position

Just days before the latest strikes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel on February 25-26. He is the only Indian PM to visit Israel twice and first to address the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

"We feel your pain, we share your grief. India stands with Israel firmly with full conviction in this moment and beyond," Modi said.

The two countries signed sixteen agreements, upgrading their ties to a "Special Strategic Partnership."Defence deals worth up to ten billion dollars — covering Israel's Iron Dome, Arrow missile defence, and precision strike systems — are on the table.

On the other hand, India is currently trying to close a bilateral trade agreement with the US. Trump recently also announced to lower tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%.

So, India is Israel's top weapons buyer, a crucial security partner, and aligned with Washington. The balancing act is this: India also operates the Chabahar Port in Iran — a strategic gateway to Central Asia — and imports a substantial share of its oil from the Gulf.

So far the India has simply urged its nationals and workers in Israel and Iran to "exercise utmost caution".

Due to India's non-alignment foreign policy, it is widely expected that its approach once again be to monitor closely and pick sides quietly rather than make declarations.