New Delhi: India’s Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) Pavan Kapoor is in Iran and met with the country’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, sanctioned by the US.
The visit Wednesday comes amid US President Donald Trump’s fresh threats to Iran and the escalating tensions in the region.
The meeting came to light after the Iranian consulate in Mumbai put out a post on X, saying: “Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, met and held talks with Pavan Kapoor, Deputy National Security Advisor of the Republic of India.”
Larijani has been at the centre of this month’s crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in Iran and was put under US sanctions earlier this month for alleged human rights abuses.
According to reports in the Iranian media, he is also positioning himself for the post-Khamenei era, using his close ties with IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guards) commanders and intelligence agencies, along with his family’s connections to senior clerics, to build support.
Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and both discussed the “evolving situation” in the region.
For India, Iran continues to be a key partner. Increasing Iran-US tensions have led to pressure on India’s ties with Iran, something that both countries are dealing with.
While India has cut down its oil imports from Iran due to US sanctions, India’s long-standing involvement in Iran’s strategic Chabahar Port now faces fresh uncertainty.
Chabahar is central to India’s access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan and countering China’s influence.
The US imposed fresh sanctions on the Chabahar Port in September 2025, after which India secured a six-month conditional waiver valid until April 26 this year.
According to media reports, Larijani comes from an influential family of clerics, with his father, Mirza Hashem Amoli, a Shia Grand Ayatollah and a key figure at the Qom Seminary before the Iranian Revolution. Larijani’s eldest brother served as deputy foreign minister and diplomat, while his younger brother—often mentioned as a possible successor to Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran—is a seminary professor in Qom and a former chief justice.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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