This article covers the political relationship between India and Iran: the treaty and declarations that frame it, visits by heads of state and government, vice-presidential and parliamentary exchanges, meetings of foreign ministers, and the consultative mechanisms between the two governments. It is based on the MEA brief of July 2026, which is dated "As on 10th July, 2026".

Foundations of the relationship

According to the MEA brief of July 2026, India and Iran share a millennia-long history of interactions, and the contemporary relationship draws upon these historical and civilisational ties. The brief says the relationship is marked by high-level exchanges, commercial cooperation, and cultural and people-to-people ties.

India and Iran signed a friendship treaty on 15th March 1950. Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Iran from 10-13 April 2001, and the Tehran Declaration was signed in April 2001. President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami then visited India from 24-28 January, 2003 as Chief Guest at the Republic Day function, and the New Delhi Declaration was signed in 2003. The brief states that these visits and declarations deepened India-Iran cooperation.

Prime Minister Modi's 2016 visit and President Rouhani's 2018 visit

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Iran on 22-23 May 2016, a visit that, according to the brief, further boosted bilateral relations. A joint statement titled "Civilizational Connect, Contemporary Context" was issued and 12 MOUs/Agreements were signed. The Trilateral Agreement on Trade, Transport and Transit between India, Iran and Afghanistan was also signed.

President Dr. Hassan Rouhani visited India from 15-17 February 2018. During the visit, a joint statement titled "Towards Prosperity Through Greater Connectivity" was issued.

Recent leader-level contacts

Prime Minister Modi met President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia in October 2024, where the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations. The brief notes that this was their first meeting since President Pezeshkian assumed office in July 2024, and that the two leaders have also had several telephonic conversations. They met again on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Bishkek on 31 August 2026 and of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 11 September 2026. Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, represented the Government of India at President Pezeshkian's swearing-in on 30-31 July 2024.

Prime Minister Modi had earlier met President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in August 2023, and on the sidelines of the SCO Heads of State Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in September 2022.

Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar visited Iran on 22 May 2024 to attend the official ceremony to pay condolences following the demise of President Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other Iranian officials in a helicopter crash in May 2024.

Earlier visits by heads of state and government

The brief's table of visits to Iran by Indian heads of state and government lists:

  • Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister, September 1959
  • Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, President, 1963
  • Smt. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister, April 1974
  • Shri Varahagiri Venkata Giri, President, 1974
  • Shri Morarji Desai, Prime Minister, June 1977
  • Shri Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister, September 1993
  • Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, 28-31 August 2012, to attend the 16th Non-aligned Movement (NAM) summit

Visits to India listed in the brief include those of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahalvi in February/March 1956 and February 1978, President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in April 1995 and President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on April 29, 2008.

Vice-presidential and parliamentary exchanges

Before Vice President Dhankhar's visit, Vice President Shri K. R. Narayanan visited Iran in October 1996, and Vice President Shri M. Hamid Ansari attended the swearing-in ceremony of President Dr. Hassan Rouhani on 04 August 2013. Shri Nitin Gadkari, then Minister of Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping, attended the swearing-in ceremony of President Rouhani on 5 August 2017.

The brief records two Parliamentary speaker-level visits: Lok Sabha Speaker Smt. Meira Kumar visited Iran in November 2011, and the Speaker of Majlis, Dr Ali Larijani, made a return visit to India from 24-28 February 2013. Nazar Afsali, Chairman of the India-Iran Parliamentary friendship group, visited India from 26-28 February 2018.

Foreign ministers

External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Iran on 7 July 2021 and again on 5-6 August 2021, the second time to attend the swearing-in of President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi. The brief states that he called on President Raisi during these visits in July and August 2021. He visited Iran again on 14-15 January 2024.

Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Hossein Amir Abdollahian visited India from 8-10 June 2022. Foreign Minister Dr. Seyyed Abbas Araghchi visited India from 07-08 May 2025 and co-chaired the 20th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with Dr. Jaishankar. Dr. Jaishankar also met Dr. Araghchi on the sidelines of the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Earlier ministerial visits listed in the brief include:

  • Shri Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister, to Iran on February 6-7 2007
  • Smt. Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister, on 16-17 April 2016 and 2 December 2017
  • Shri M J Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs, on 10-12 September 2016
  • Dr. Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister of Iran, on bilateral visits to India on 28 February, 2014, 13-14 August 2015, 28 May 2018 and 13-14 May 2019
  • Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati, Senior Advisor to Supreme Leader on International Affairs, to India in December 2011

Consultative mechanisms

The brief states that the two countries have several Bilateral Consultative Mechanisms at various levels, including the Joint Committee Meeting (JCM), Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), Security Consultations at the level of National Security Advisers and Deputy National Security Advisers, and the Joint Consular Committee Meeting (JCCM).

Foreign Office Consultations recorded in the brief include:

  • the 9th FoCs, Smt. Nirupama Rao, Foreign Secretary, July 2011
  • FoCs with Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as Foreign Secretary, June 13-14, 2015
  • the 14th FoCs, Dr. Jaishankar as Foreign Secretary, 16-17 May 2017
  • the 16th FoCs, Shri Vijay Gokhale, Foreign Secretary, 16 September 2019
  • Foreign Office Consultations with Mr. Ali Bagheri Kani, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, in India on 24 November 2022
  • the 18th FoCs, Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Foreign Secretary, 25-26 November 2023
  • the 19th Foreign Office Consultation (FOC), with Dr. Majid Takht Ravanchi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, in India on 01-04 January 2025