As Quad Foreign Ministers meet, India-U.S. tensions, U.S.-China re-engagement and Iran war pose challenges

Foreign Ministers of the Quad will meet for the first time in nearly a year, as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar hosts U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Delhi on Tuesday (May 26, 2026) at Delhi’s Hyderabad House. The Foreign Ministers will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Ministry of External Affairs advisory said.

The Ministers last met on July 1, 2025, when they updated the goals for the quadrilateral grouping, simplifying them to four areas: maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, humanitarian assistance and emergency responses, and the launch of the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative.

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However, rapid developments, including the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran and other actions by the Donald Trump administration, have posed questions over the viability of the grouping, and the Ministers will have their task cut out for them as they seek to renew their mandate. In addition, they will discuss whether it is possible to hold the Quad Summit in India later this year, or take a decision to downgrade the grouping by meeting regularly only at the Foreign Minister level, as was the case prior to 2021, given India’s difficulties in scheduling the Summit in 2024 and 2025.

In particular, tensions between India and the U.S. in the past year have led to a slowdown in ties, amid differences over the India-Pakistan conflict, strained trade talks after the U.S. imposed a whopping 50% tariff on Indian goods, Mr. Trump’s comments on India being a “dead economy”, and immigration restrictions by the U.S. During his four-day visit to India, Mr. Rubio has faced some embarrassment and persistent questions from journalists over the U.S. President reposting an anti-immigrant rant describing India as a “hellhole”.

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“The President [Donald Trump] loves India. The President is a big fan of India, a big fan of Prime Minister Modi. I wouldn’t be here if the President didn’t want me to be here. He wouldn’t have sent someone like Sergio [Gor] to be our Ambassador, someone who’s very close to the President,” Mr. Rubio told journalists on Monday. “I mean, people say stupid stuff all the time on social media and in every country in the world, unfortunately,” he added, indicating “general” comments online.

As a result, the restoration of India-U.S. relations and the return of a certain degree of trust will possibly need to precede progress on the Quad, and in particular the visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to India for the summit. Although Mr. Rubio conveyed an invitation to Mr. Modi to visit Washington in the next few months, it is Mr. Trump’s turn to visit India, and Mr. Modi is in any case expected to travel to the U.S. for the G-20 Summit in December. Prior to that, his travel schedule has already filled up -- Mr. Modi is expected to fly back to Europe in June to attend the G-7 outreach in France and for a bilateral visit to Slovakia. He will then travel east to Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia in July, and is due to host the BRICS Summit in Delhi in September, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has already announced he will attend. Ms. Wong, who will hold talks with Mr. Jaishankar on Tuesday evening, is expected to discuss Australia chairing the next Quad as well as Mr. Modi’s visit.

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Prioritising the Quad may be more difficult given other travel moves. In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to be in the U.S. to return Mr. Trump’s visit to China, which will take precedence. In addition, indications that Washington is seeking a more accommodating position with Beijing could cause concerns for the long-term future of the Indo-Pacific grouping that was set up to counter Chinese actions in the region. Responses by the Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao at a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing last Thursday indicated the U.S. is toning down support to Taiwan as well, after Mr. Cao said that the Pentagon had “paused” a $14 billion arms sale to Taipei in order to deal with commitments on the war in Iran.

Meanwhile the on-again, off-again U.S.-Iran talks for peace amidst the ceasefire, could also cast a shadow on the Quad conversations as they discuss how to deal with the impact of the Hormuz Strait blockade on trade and energy security for the Indo-Pacific. While other partners in the grouping, Australia and Japan, are treaty allies of the U.S., India is not. Although Mr. Rubio referred to the “strategic alliance” between India and the U.S. nearly a dozen times during a press conference with Mr. Jaishankar on Sunday, it remains to be seen whether the U.S. will call for Quad partners to send their militaries to open or patrol the Hormuz Strait. The government also appeared to indicate its discomfort with U.S. sanctions on Indian imports of Russian oil during the Jaishankar-Rubio talks, although they have been waived presently. “We have pointed out that distortions and constraints do not help us,” Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a question from The Hindu on Monday.