1 Global Discourse • vol XX • no XX • 1–17 © Author 2022 • Online ISSN 2043-7897 https://doi.org/10.1332/204378921X16587379187471 Accepted for publication 25 July 2022 • First published online 18 August 2022 RESEARCH ARTICLE India–Iran relations and the US exit from Afghanistan: finding common ground? Sumitha Narayanan Kutty, sumitha.narayanan_kutty@kcl.ac.uk King’s College London, UK The withdrawal of US troops and the subsequent return of the Taliban to power have resulted in India and Iran aligning over Afghanistan’s future once again. India risks facing isolation and sees its relationship with Iran as essential to preventing Pakistani hegemony in their shared neighbourhood. Their renewed regional convergence overlaps with an otherwise widening strategic dissonance as the two countries drift further apart within the international order: India as a defence partner of the US embedded in the Indo-Pacifc framework and Iran working with China and Russia to counter the US-led order. This often raises questions of reliability within the India–Iran partnership. The article engages with this perception and examines India’s strategic calculus vis-a-vis Iran in a changing global order characterised by declining US commitment. It argues that, notwithstanding the numerous structural and bilateral constraints between them, India will continue to engage an otherwise challenging partner like Iran, as its strategies are, on balance, beneftting from a world that is in fux. Key words India • Iran • Afghanistan • the US • South Asia Key messages • India and Iran fnd alignment on Afghanistan’s future after US exit and Taliban’s return. • Regional convergence of interests co-exists with misalignment at the grand strategic level as India works with the US and Iran with China and Russia to counter US hegemony. • Despite such constraints to ties, India continues to engage Iran since its strategies, on balance, beneft from a global order in fux. To cite this article: Narayanan Kutty, S. (2022) India–Iran relations and the US exit from Afghanistan: fnding common ground?, Global Discourse, XX(XX): 1–17, DOI: 10.1332/ 204378921X16587379187471 Introduction The US ended its 20-year mission in Afghanistan right where it started – with the Taliban back in power. The rapid takeover by the militant group in August 2021