New Delhi: Iran could assist in contacting the Houthi leadership to help overturn the death sentence imposed on Indian nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen.
Nimisha Priya, convicted of murdering a Yemeni national, has been on death row in Sanaa’s central prison. Her sentencing was recently upheld by Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council.
In Delhi, a senior Iranian government official told reporters on Wednesday (January 1) that the matter would be “taken up.” “We will do whatever we can,” he said.
Yemen has been in the grip of a civil war since 2014, with the Aden-based Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), backed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, locked in conflict with the Sanaa-based Houthis’ Supreme Political Council.
A large section of the Indian media had reported earlier that the death sentence was confirmed by the head of PLC, Rashad al-Alimi, which was inaccurate.
Iran’s close ties with the Houthis, including representatives stationed in each other’s territories, give it significant influence over the group.
Responding earlier to a question about the situation in Yemen, the senior Iranian official commented on ties with the Houthis, stating that while they share close relations, the Yemeni group does not always heed their advice.
“Ansarallah [the Houthis] are not our stooges,” he remarked.
Earlier, on Tuesday, India had said it was “aware of the sentencing of Ms. Nimisha Priya in Yemen”.
“We understand that the family of Ms. Priya is exploring relevant options,” said external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, adding, “The government is extending all possible help in the matter”.
An Iranian delegation, headed by deputy foreign minister Majid Takht Ravanchi, is presently in India for foreign office-level discussions.
The talks come against the backdrop of a volatile West Asia, with the war in Gaza, airstrikes in Yemen, attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria adding to the instability.
The impending inauguration of Donald Trump’s second presidential term in mid-January is expected to further complicate geopolitical dynamics.
During Trump’s first term, Iran faced severe sanctions. However, the senior Iranian official expressed a belief that a repeat of the “maximum pressure” policy would not have the same effect.
“We cannot deny the fact that Trump can go for maximum pressure if he wants. But I do not believe that the impact would be the same, as it is a different world now,” he stated.
He highlighted the improved relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, brokered by China, and noted the evolving partnerships with Russia and China. “Iran’s relationship with Russia and China is also different from what it was before”.
He also asserted that it was “too early to pre-judge” Trump. While acknowledging Trump’s hard-line advisors, he pointed out that the former president himself admitted the earlier sanctions policy against Iran had failed.
“As a businessman, he has to learn from past mistakes … In a nutshell, we will wait,” he remarked.
India’s energy ties with Iran have diminished due to US sanctions, leading to a drastic reduction in Iranian oil imports. “We used to have good economic ties before sanctions in 2018. It is not much now and that is very unfortunate,” the Iranian official said.
In 2019-20, the volume of trade was $4.77 billion but has declined sharply each year thereafter. By 2022-23, it had dropped to $2.33 billion, with India’s exports to Iran amounting to $1.66 billion.
He stressed that Iran understood India’s constraints in respecting the sanctions, but lamented that “it is a pity that Indian refineries that had adjusted to Iranian oil had to find some other sources”.
He also noted that questions were often asked in Tehran by journalists on why India continued to buy oil from Russia despite sanctions. “We have to answer that the circumstances of the sanctions are different”.
While stating that Tehran did “not want to create hardships” for others in navigating sanctions, he also said that the energy trade was a “legitimate issues on which we need to find answers”.
Pointing out that the development of the Chabahar port was carved out of the sanctions regime due to India’s role and its importance for Afghanistan, the senior Iranian official said that the port was a “good place for cooperation in petrochemicals”.
Highlighting the need to boost non-energy trade, he suggested tourism as a possible sector but said that India must remove restrictions on visas to Iranian nationals.
On issues of mutual concern, he flagged the resurgence of terrorism in West Asia after the collapse of the Assad regime and the Gaza war. “We need to talk about terrorism [with India],” he said.
In early 2024, Iran and Pakistan had an unprecedented exchange of missile strikes, begun by Tehran as it struck terror groups near its border in the restive Balochistan province of Pakistan.
Noting that both neighbours have now reconciled, he also added, “One cannot make an analogy between Iran and Pakistan and India and Pakistan”.
Dismissing claims that Iran has been weakened by events in Syria or targeted assassinations by Israel, he said, “It doesn’t change the core question [about Israel’s occupation of Palestine].”
