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As Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for a stand-alone sojourn to Israel connected Wednesday (February 25, 2026) to upgrade bilateral relations, its timing faces geopolitical headwinds. While defence and security, labour and trade, AI and technology, and IMEC task connectivity volition beryllium astatine the apical of the docket for his meetings with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the outcomes volition spell beyond bilateral agreements to their symbolism and the connection they nonstop to the wider West Asian region.
Over the people of the 24-hour sojourn from February 25 to 26, astir of the engagements planned volition spot the leaders together. Mr. Netanyahu volition person Mr. Modi astatine the airdrome successful Tel Aviv, arsenic helium did during the past sojourn successful July 2017, and the 2 leaders are expected to question unneurotic to Jerusalem. Apart from bilateral talks and property statements connected Thursday, they volition some be Mr. Modi’s code to the Knesset, a backstage dinner, an innovation event, a sojourn to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial depository and perchance a gathering with the diaspora successful Israel, billed arsenic an enactment with the “Indian-Jewish” assemblage settled there.
In particular, Mr. Netanyahu’s plans to denote a “hexagonal alliance” with India, Greece and Cyprus, and immoderate unnamed Arab, African and Asian countries against “both extremist Sunni and Shia axes”, volition beryllium watched intimately by those countries seen to beryllium targeted, including Iran, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, each of which has humanities and analyzable ties with India. Any announcements connected trilateral practice betwixt India, the UAE and Israel during the sojourn volition besides person an interaction successful the region, wherever UAE-Saudi tensions are rising.
“The volition present is to make an axis of nations that spot eye-to-eye connected the reality, challenges, and goals against the extremist axes, some the extremist Shia axis, which we person struck precise hard, and the emerging extremist Sunni axis,” Mr. Netanyahu told his furniture portion announcing Mr. Modi’s sojourn connected Sunday (February 22, 2026). The comments came conscionable arsenic U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said successful an interrogation that it “would beryllium fine” if Israel were to instrumentality power of astir of the biblical Middle-East oregon West Asia, starring commentators to gully a nexus betwixt the remarks.
To question to Tel Aviv, Mr. Modi volition besides person to navigate U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to onslaught Iran, some virtually and figuratively, amid a U.S. subject build-up and withdrawal of unit from cardinal bases crossed West Asia. While attacks bash not look apt this week, fixed Iran-U.S. talks connected Thursday, it indispensable beryllium remembered that U.S. strikes connected Iran’s atomic facilities successful June 2025 took spot adjacent arsenic negotiations were ongoing. Facing questions implicit India’s question advisory asking citizens successful Iran to permission the country, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said astatine a parliamentary committee gathering connected Monday (February 23, 2026) that the Prime Minister’s information would beryllium ensured successful the lawsuit of bombardment of Iran. However, New Delhi would besides person to see the optics of being caught successful cross-fire betwixt Iran and Israel, conscionable arsenic Mr. Modi volition beryllium lasting enarthrosis to enarthrosis with Mr. Netanyahu.
The sojourn could impact India’s ties with Iran directly, a state that borders South Asia and has agelong offered India vigor and connectivity options. In deference to Mr. Trump’s sanctions, the Modi authorities stopped importing Iranian lipid successful 2017. Trade and concern declined subsequently, and much precocious improvement of the Chabahar larboard terminal has been curtailed. In January, New Delhi enactment disconnected the scheduled sojourn of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and has not yet rescheduled it. Later this year, New Delhi is expected to big the BRICS summit, wherever Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian volition beryllium invited.
Mr. Modi’s visit, the archetypal since the two-year Israeli warfare connected Gaza successful which much than 70,000 were killed, besides coincides with Israel’s plans to widen power implicit much territories nether the Palestinian Authority successful the West Bank, which has sparked planetary condemnation. India was hesitant to articulation a connection astatine the United Nations, yet signed by 100 countries criticising Israel’s violations of planetary instrumentality implicit the plans, and the Indian ngo signed it a time aft it was announced astatine a associated property league by dozens of diplomats. When asked past week, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson blamed the Palestinian ngo and others for proceeding excessively aboriginal with a connection that was not “jointly negotiated”.
However, the authorities did not explicate wherefore it delayed, portion countries specified arsenic the U.K., Australia, Japan, Germany and France signed immediately. Mr. Modi’s talks with Mr. Netanyahu connected the aboriginal of Gaza volition besides beryllium significant, fixed the U.S. “Board of Peace” plans for reconstruction, medication and peacekeeping of the Gaza Strip, and India’s determination to enactment lone arsenic an perceiver astatine the archetypal gathering successful Washington. As Israel heads to elections aboriginal this year, Mr. Netanyahu faces calls for information accountability implicit the October 2023 panic attacks, and Mr. Modi’s comments during the sojourn volition beryllium scrutinised by Israeli absorption parties, which person threatened to boycott the Knesset code implicit the tussle betwixt the Israeli authorities and the Supreme Court.
Finally, the sojourn comes arsenic documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice connected communications by convicted enactment trafficker and capitalist Jeffrey Epstein, who had adjacent links to Israeli leaders including a erstwhile Prime Minister, person triggered controversies and resignations successful respective countries. The Ministry of External Affairs powerfully denied and dismissed Mr. Epstein’s assertion successful a speech with a Qatari interlocutor that helium and Mr. Trump had successful immoderate mode guided Prime Minister Modi’s past sojourn to Israel successful 2017.
