New Delhi is certainly gearing up to seize the opportunities that the Iranian nuclear deal brings. What is equally critical at this stage is to preempt challenges to its regional strategy in a post-deal environment.

A new policy brief released by The Takshashila Institution provides some guidance on exactly that. The document titled “Mapping India’s response to Iran’s changing global status and regional influence” explores Iran’s possible futures and charts India’s approach in the four resulting scenarios. This exercise factors in changes in Iran’s international status and variations in its influence in the Middle East. The scenario most likely to emerge is one where Iran complies with the nuclear deal even as its influence flourishes in the Middle East.

One key takeaway here is that Iran will continue to evolve on both fronts – be it the extent of global integration or fluctuations in its regional influence. In response, New Delhi should be ready to push and protect its agenda.

… Sumitha Narayanan Kutty is Associate Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.  She was previously Scholar at The Takshashila Institution, India.