New Delhi, Delhi, India
India's ties with the United States has been helped along by the personal chemistry of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, but the US President's policies, first towards Russia and now Iran, are causing anxieties to New Delhi.
Russia is among the biggest exporters of military hardware to India, and Iran is the third largest supplier of oil to India. Together, they are crucial for India's defence and energy security.
But the recent US sanctions on Russia threaten the defence relationship between New Delhi and Moscow.
The sanctions make it more difficult for Indian banks to make payment to Russian state-owned arms manufacturers.
India is also scrambling to insulate Russian defence purchases from the American domestic law called Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence sectors of Russia.
On August 2 last year, Trump signed into law the act, which among other things, imposes new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea.
India is currently in an advance stage of negotiations with Russia for five S-400 system worth an estimate US $4.5 billion.
The S-400 Triumf long-range air defence missile system has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. The S-400 missile system can fire three types of missiles and simultaneously engage 36 targets, thereby creating a layered defence.
As if this was not enough, Trump's opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, with its attendant consequences, comes just as India ramps up ties with Iran.
Any instability in what India sees as its extended neighbourhood will have implications for New Delhi. Disruption of oil imports from Iran will be an immediate worry.
Between April 2017 and January this year, Iran was India's third largest supplier of crude oil after Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The mode of payment for the oil imported is another concern as banks would be reluctant to route payments to Iran because of the fear of inviting adverse reaction from the US.
India is also invested in developing the Chabahar port in Iran. It is of immense strategic importance for both India and the land-locked Afghanistan.
The other connectivity project of interest of to India is the international north-south transport corridor linking India with Central Asia and Russia via Iran.
In fact, this was a major point of discussion during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to India in February, 2018.
The joint statement issued towards the end of his visit said, "The two leaders agreed on the deepening trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. In this context, they recognised the need to put in place an effective banking channel for business transactions. It was noted that permission for the Iranian Pasargad Bank to open a branch in India was under advance consideration. It was also agreed to set up a joint committee of officials to examine feasible options, including Rupee-Rial arrangement, Asian clearing union mechanism to establish functional payment channels."
India lost a decade in its relations with Iran after voting against it in the international atomic energy agency in 2005. Iran retaliated immediately by cancelling a deal for selling liquefied natural gas or LNG to India.
It was only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power that the ties began to look up. But, if the Iran nuclear deal unravels, West Asia may face new problems, which could potentially create a new global crisis at India's doorstep.