PM Modi's Israel visit: What New Delhi signals to the Middle East at a volatile moment

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Israel on February 25-26 comes at a particularly sensitive time in West Asia. With US President Donald Trump openly acknowledging that he is considering military strikes on Iran, tensions in the region have escalated again.

Also read: ‘Decision in 10-15 days’: Trump weighs limited military action against Iran

Geostrategist Brahma Chellaney views the timing not as a coincidence, but as a deliberate signal. In a post on X, he said Netanyahu's planned visit to India in 2025 was postponed three times.

"Rather than wait for him to come, Modi is traveling to Israel on Wednesday at a moment when Donald Trump has openly acknowledged that he is considering military strikes on Iran - an escalation that would almost certainly draw Israel into a wider regional conflict," he wrote. 

At first glance, Chellaney suggests, the optics appear risky. In reality, he said, the trip is a "calculated strategic signal from New Delhi."

Modi's Israel visit: Signalling strategic presence

According to Chellaney, who is also a professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research, Modi's physical presence in Israel - particularly as US carrier strike groups reposition in the region - is intended to underline India’s growing geopolitical weight.

"By landing in Israel as U.S. carrier strike groups move into position, Modi is underscoring India's status as a consequential stakeholder in Middle Eastern stability. His scheduled address to the Knesset during a period of heightened military alert further reinforces that India will not be deterred by regional volatility."

This will be Modi's second visit to Israel, following his landmark 2017 trip - the first ever by an Indian prime minister - when bilateral ties were elevated to a strategic partnership. 

The current visit also comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's three planned trips to India in 2025 were postponed due to domestic turbulence.

Modi's visit and Israel's domestic context

The trip coincides with political tensions within Israel itself. "It has already become entangled in the country's ongoing judicial crisis: the opposition, led by Yair Lapid, has threatened to boycott the Knesset session. The protest is not directed at Modi but at Netanyahu’s government for excluding Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit from official state events," he said. 

For Netanyahu, Chellaney argues, hosting Modi carries domestic significance. "It (the visit) bolsters his narrative that Israel's global partnerships - what he has termed a 'hexagon of alliances' - remain robust despite internal unrest."

Netanyahu has described Modi's visit as "historic", calling the India-Israel relationship a "powerful alliance between two global leaders." He has also outlined ambitions for expanded cooperation in high-tech, AI, and quantum computing.

India's Middle East outreach

The professor further said that by traveling to Israel just four weeks after hosting Arab foreign ministers in New Delhi, PM Modi is "effectively restoring equilibrium in India's Middle East outreach" - stabilising ties with Israel after a year of delays and ensuring critical defense and technology projects remain on track.

India has traditionally balanced strong ties with Israel alongside deep economic and diaspora links across the Arab world. Hosting Arab ministers earlier this year signalled continuity in that outreach. The Israel visit, in Chellaney's reading, reaffirms that the relationship with Jerusalem remains central - particularly in defence, technology, and innovation.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi will touch down in Israel. He will deliver a speech at the Knesset (Israeli Parliament). "We will also hold an innovation event in Jerusalem and visit Yad Vashem together," Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said on Sunday.