Iran war shows military force alone cannot be solution to conflicts: T.S. Tirumurti

The recent United States-Israel-Iran war has clearly exhibited that military action alone was not enough to find resolution to conflicts and that a political follow-up was pertinent, T.S. Tirumurti, former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, New York, said in Chennai on Wednesday (May 13, 2026).

Speaking at the inauguration of Diplomacy and Sustainability Dialogues 2026, jointly organised by Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS) and The Hindu, Ambassador Tirumurti said, “...what has changed is that the Iran war has shown us once again that military force by itself cannot be a solution unless followed up with a political solution, whether in Ukraine or in Gaza or in Iran. With the U.S. and China having almost parallel visions of the world order, political resolution of conflict is one area which has been receiving less and less attention, especially from the P5 countries – the permanent five countries of the United Nations.”

Emphasis on political resolutions

The Iranian insistence on a permanent solution of the issues involved, he said, has put the focus once again on political resolutions of wars and conflicts, both in the region and beyond. Referring to the various conflicts and proxy wars in Africa fought by external players, historical conflicts in West Asia, including the Palestinian issue, and threats and conflicts in Latin America, Ambassador Tirumurti said that terrorism has added one more layer of conflict by state or by non-state actors. “We ignore all of them at our own peril. It is time we took the right lessons from the Iran war,” he warned.

Talmiz Ahmed, former Ambassador to Oman, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, and Distinguished Professor of International Studies, Symbiosis International University, Pune, said the expression “we are in the cusp of a new world order” was something international relations experts were grappling with of late; and that it was a coming together of a “large number of significant changes”.

“It will take some effort on your part to realise that many of the things that are given in your life are changing and are likely to change very significantly,” Ambassador Ahmed said, pointing at what he called a “seismic change in political order” in Tamil Nadu, and the government elected in Delhi 12 years ago that was revamping the basis of the idea of India enshrined in the Constitution. Quoting Lord Byron, he said, “...first freedom, then glory, then wealth, vice, corruption, barbarism at last...we are looking at the age of barbarism. This is what explains the extraordinary violence that has been wreaked all across West Asia with total impunity.”

Sanjay Sudhir, former Ambassador to the U.A.E. and Maldives, and Distinguished Fellow, IIM Ahmedabad, said that the West Asia conflict has had a deep impact on India that was visible in its GDP, inflation, fall of the rupee, and the current account deficit, and was also having a deep cascading effect on its industries, especially petrochemicals and fertilisers. “When the war ends, when there is this so called settlement that satisfies all sides, I think it will be a big challenge for us, because not only is there a new axis forming – Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt – but with the politics of the GCC itself changing, I think that will put our diplomacy to a big test,” he added.

N.M. Veeraiyan, Chancellor, SIMATS Chennai, said that the university believed in the principle of providing more than education, equipping students to contribute to society through innovation, research, policy, and sustainable development. “Through activities connected with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), we are committed to developing socially responsible students, ethical leaders, and researchers who can solve real world problems by themselves,” Dr. Veeraiyan added.

Dialogues necessary

In his welcome address, L.V. Navaneeth, CEO, The Hindu Group of Publications, said dialogues such as these create informed public discourse, bringing together voices that helped society think deeper, engage better, and understand the larger forces shaping the future. “At a time when the world is witnessing deep geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainty, energy insecurity, and increasing sustainability concerns, conventions such as these become not just relevant but a necessity,” he added.

Earlier, setting the stage for the deliberations, Dhanraj Ganapathy, Dean of Sustainability, SIMATS, said that India’s position in the present geopolitical context was very “delicate” and it required to tread cautiously while choosing between “the worse and the worst”. SIMATS, he said, would consolidate the day’s deliberations in the form of a document and present it to the Government of India.