Former RAW chief says India's spy agencies must lead geopolitical offence and defence

India's external intelligence agency and the Intelligence Bureau must function as the nation's first line of offence and defence in geopolitics, according to former Research and Analysis Wing secretary Vikram Sood.

Speaking at a Chennai event organised by Chennai International Centre and Deccan Centre for International Affairs, Mr. Sood emphasised the need for coordination between the two agencies in an increasingly complex information environment. "The world is spinning so fast and the events are happening so fast…its quality, its depth, disinformation…all that is being thrown at your table and am sure our men have found ways of going around them," he said in a conversation with C. Balasubramanian.

Strategic Assessment of Middle East Tensions

Mr. Sood, author of three books on intelligence and geopolitics including "The Unending Game" and "Great Power Games: From Western Decline to Eastern Ascent", addressed what he described as American miscalculations regarding Iran. The United States believed it could finish military operations in Iran within days, but "the Iranians have been preparing, they knew this is going to happen," he said.

He drew parallels to previous U.S. military interventions, noting that after American actions in the Balkans in the 1990s and Iraq during George Bush's presidency, Iran anticipated "a ruthless attack" and prepared accordingly.

On the possibility of Pakistani involvement in regional conflict, Mr. Sood predicted potential action but ruled out broader participation. "They may be planning another attack, but the Saudis and the Turks won't get involved in the conflict," he said.

The former intelligence chief characterised the regional dynamics as "a local tie up in the middle east to keep Iran down….to tell Donald Trump that we are going to look after our own security and we don't want to buy anything from you".

Democracy and National Interest

Mr. Sood challenged the narrative of American foreign policy as democracy promotion. "To say that America [the U.S.] has always fought for democracies is wrong. They have not. They have fought for national interests," he said, adding that at one point the U.S. had 65 autocratic, non-democratic countries supporting it while "fighting for democracy".

The Chennai event took place on August 30, 2026.

Source: The Hindu