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India-Iran: Joint Anti-Piracy In The Gulf Of Oman – Opportunities And Challenges (2025) – IMPRI Impact And Policy Research Institute

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India-Iran: Joint Anti-Piracy in the Gulf of Oman - Opportunities and Challenges (2025)

Policy Update

Mallika Amale

The Gulf of Oman is at the center of maritime insecurity. Situated in the Arabian Sea, it borders Iran, Pakistan, and Oman, and is of strategic importance to India, especially considering energy security. While not itself a hotspot for piracy, it lies adjacent to several high risk zones. To its northwest is the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical chokepoints, often called the ‘oil chokepoint,’ through which nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil shipments transits. To its southwest lie the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin, historically infamous for piracy and witnessing an uptick since early 2024.

Strait of Homuz multi coloured AdobeStock 1376479137 6224396ef1925c09354a4c7cdd5a43f8

Source: Adobe Stock

India prioritises the security of the sea lines of communications (SLOCs) in the Gulf of Oman to safeguard its strategic and economic interests. Approximately 36 percent of India’s total daily crude imports amounting to 2 million barrels per day passes through the Strait of Hormuz, sustaining vital trade with partners such as Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, and Kuwait. Additionally, nearly USD 1.3 trillion in maritime trade passes through, making it a vital chokepoint.

Moreover, Iran’s Chabahar port, which lies at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman, is another strategic point for India, considering the China-Pakistan nexus. Since 2018, India has managed operations at the Shahid Beheshti terminal, and in 2024 India signed a ten year agreement to develop and operate the port. This move bolsters India’s connectivity with both Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Between May 2019 and August 2021, several incidents of “potential hijacking” were reported in the Gulf of Oman amid heightened US-Iran tensions. Moreover between November 2023  and April 2024, over 25 cases of piracy were reported. There has been a resurgence of Somali piracy and armed robbery by over 20 percent in 2023, with 194 incidents recorded as compared to 161 incidents in 2022. In this context, potential India-Iran joint maritime cooperation on anti-piracy operations could prove mutually beneficial while also contributing to enhanced security in the wider Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Functioning

No formal bilateral treaty or initiative exists between India and Iran on combating piracy in the Gulf of Oman region. Nevertheless, both nations have undertaken significant anti-piracy measures independently as per their respective capabilities. India, with one of the largest navies, has played an active role as a “First Responder” in the IOR. Since as early as 2008, India had stationed two of its modern warships in the Gulf of Aden region to regularly conduct anti-piracy patrols and offer safe passage by escorting commercial vehicles sailing under any flag. The Western Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden have thus continuously witnessed substantial deployment of the Indian Navy. In addition, India launched “Operation Sankalp” on 19 June 2019, initially aimed at protecting Indian vessels in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. While today its focus has broadened, the operation has, since its inception, safeguarded over 200 vessels carrying 21 million tonnes of cargo. Between June 2019 and May 2021 alone, over 20 warships were deployed under this operation.

On the other hand, Iran has also been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008. The Iranian Navy had deployed several warships to protect all vessels, Iranian and foreign, transiting in the region. It had reiterated its commitment of combating piracy in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz and towards maintaining stability in the IOR. Also recently, in March 2025, Iran conducted anti-piracy drills with China and Russia under a joint exercise of “Maritime Security Belt 2025.” Beyond this, India and Iran have engaged in a few naval interactions over the years, such as through multilateral exercises and goodwill visits, among others.

Performance

Since the beginning of India’s 2008 anti-piracy patrols, the Indian Navy has reportedly saved over 110 lives, including 45 Indian seafarers, escorted 15 lakh tons of critical commodities, conducted nearly 1000 boarding operations, seized over 3000 kg of narcotics and safely escorted over 450 merchant vessels. Under Operation Sankalp, over 5000 personnel have been deployed in over 21 ships, and over 900 hours of flying was undertaken by maritime aircraft to address threats at sea. 

In December 2023, the Indian Navy successfully rescued a Malta flagged vessel MV Ruen from Somali pirates in the northwestern Arabian sea. INS Kolkata captured 35 pirates who had taken control of MV Ruen for over three months and rescued 17 crew members. This marked the first piracy related incident in the region since 2017, prompting the deployment of another indigenous guided missile destroyer in the region by the Indian Navy.

INS Sumitra also successfully rescued two Iranian ships, namely the FV Iman and FV Al Naeemi, from Somali pirates, conducting two anti-piracy operations under the span of 36 hours in the southern Arabian sea. Additionally, the Indian Navy also rescued another vessel from potential hijacking, the Liberian flagged MV Lila Norfolk in the northern Arabian sea.

India and Iran have undertaken a few naval measures together, such as the goodwill visit of INS Betwa and INS Beas to Bandar-e-Abbas port in 2015, and recently the long range training deployment of the First Training Squadron (1TS) – INS Tir, INS Shardul and ICGS Veera in Bandar-e-Abbas port in 2024, among other drills. Both countries also participated in the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Maritime Exercise (IMEX 2022) held in Goa from March 26 to 30, 2022.

These naval achievements are indicative of the fact that India and Iran possess the required experience and infrastructure for joint cooperation in combating anti-piracy incidents.

Impact

It is evident from the current naval initiatives and achievements of both India and Iran in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea that they have effectively managed to contain maritime threats, including the threat of piracy related attacks.

The potential impact of a joint India-Iran Anti-Piracy initiative in the Gulf of Oman would be twofold. First, the spillover effect of piracy related incidents from the Somali basin and Gulf of Aden could be mitigated due to regular anti-piracy patrols. It could deter threats of hijacking and smuggling in the Gulf of Oman. Second, India could strengthen its energy security by protecting SLOCs, bolstering its position as a regional power. Both countries could cooperate in maintaining stability in the wider IOR.

Emerging Issues

For there to be cooperation between India and Iran in combating piracy in the Gulf of Oman, a few roadblocks need to be addressed:

  1. Lack of a Formal Bilateral Framework: As of September 2025, no formal treaty or memorandum of understanding (MOU) of any kind exists between India and Iran, specifically tackling the issue of anti-piracy, despite periodic talks on cooperation. So far, naval diplomacy has been conducted on an ad hoc basis. Establishment of a dedicated bilateral maritime security dialogue is essential or it may limit institutionalised cooperation.
  2. Sanctions on Iran: International restrictions on Iran and sanctions imposed by the US, including the recent sanctions waiver of Chabahar port could complicate operationality and logistics of cooperation in anti-piracy efforts. Current geopolitical dynamics make India-Iran cooperation tricky.
  3. Multiple Threats in the Region: Navigating maritime threats in the Gulf of Oman and the wider Arabian sea is difficult considering the overlapping threats of piracy, terrorism, and state-linked maritime incidents, including containing the effects of the adjacent Red Sea crisis.
  4. Expanding Operational Requirements of Indian Navy: Tackling the resurgence of Somali piracy, managing the Red Sea crisis, and maintaining  patrols in the Gulf of Oman collectively put a significant strain on the Navy’s resources. This widening scope of responsibilities has stretched the Navy’s deployment capabilities. This highlights the need for greater resources from the Indian Navy. In the Union Budget of 2025-26, while the overall defence allocation rose by 9.53 percent, the Navy continued to receive the smallest share among the three services, trailing the Army and the Air Force. This has impacted the operational requirements as well as the Navy’s plan to modernise.

Way Forward

It is evident that the Gulf of Oman holds a unique part in India’s broader maritime strategy. For India, ensuring the safety of SLOCs in this region from piracy directly translates into reinforced energy security and stable trade. As talks of India-Iran cooperation increase, it is important to acknowledge the role of transparency and confidence building that is required. Cooperation could expand by structured maritime dialogues, joint patrols, institutionalising real-time intelligence sharing, coordinating logistics at Chabahar, and integration of this partnership into multilateral frameworks, such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). Joint anti-piracy efforts will ultimately lead to a secure Indian Ocean Region.

References

About the Contributor

Mallika Amale is currently interning at IMPRI. She is pursuing a Master’s in International Relations and Strategic Studies from the School of International Relations and Strategic Studies (SIRSS) at the University of Mumbai. Her research interests include India’s foreign policy, maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, and the Indo-Pacific.

Acknowledgment

The author sincerely thanks the team at IMPRI for their valuable guidance, as well as my peers for their support during the whole process.

Disclaimer

All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.

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