Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. (File photo)

NEW DELHI: Balancing the sustained outreach to the Arab world, India will host Iranian president Hassan Rouhani who will come on a state visit later next month.

Rouhani’s visit is scheduled to take place after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from yet another trip to West Asia—Palestine, UAE and Oman. Rouhani’s government is still recovering from a spate of protests last month against the poor state of the economy. But of greater concern is the growing strain between Iran and the US that could upend the nuclear deal, opening up West Asia to a new round of unrest.

While India and Iran have started operations of Chahbahar port, giving Afghanistan a route to the sea bypassing Pakistan, the two countries have also been locked in a dispute on the Farzad B gas field.

But as Iran has played hard to get, India has successfully diversified its energy sources. In two years, said a source, “Our need for this is no longer big enough to get into a bruising negotiation.” In recent months, India has invested in Russia as well as exploring for off-shore gas in Israel.

Despite the troubles though, India regards Iran as one of its more important partners in the Gulf region, seeing it as the natural regional power.

