A potential regime change in Iran poses significant geopolitical ramifications, particularly for India, Pakistan, and China, as highlighted by NDTV. For India, a weakened or collapsing Iranian state could severely impede its strategic maneuvering space in the region. A primary concern is the fate of the Chabahar Port, a crucial Indian investment providing direct access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, thereby bypassing Pakistan. Disruption to this project could reverse India's efforts to diversify trade routes and strengthen regional connectivity. Furthermore, India views Iran's current Shia leadership as an important regional counterweight to Pakistan's influence and to Sunni extremist groups. The loss of this balance due to a regime change or prolonged instability could allow Pakistan's influence in Afghanistan and Central Asia to expand, thereby creating serious strategic challenges for New Delhi in West Asia and beyond. Indian strategists also fear that an unpredictable or externally aligned Iran would shrink India's strategic choices and undermine its long-standing policy of multi-alignment. Beyond strategic concerns, instability in Iran could jeopardize India's energy security, as West Asia is a major source of oil and gas imports, and pose risks to the millions of Indian expatriates working in the Gulf. Conversely, a regime change in Iran could potentially benefit Pakistan by removing a significant regional balancer that has historically curbed its influence. Similarly, China stands to gain from a destabilized or externally dependent Iran. Given China's substantial economic ties with Iran, including being its largest export market, and the 25-year strategic cooperation pact between them, a chaotic transition could see Beijing further solidify its economic and strategic grip. China and Russia have consistently opposed foreign intervention in Iran, viewing the country as a partner against US influence, which further underscores their potential strategic gains in a post-regime change scenario. The article underscores that India prefers the known quantity of the current Iranian system over the unpredictable chaos or external alignment that a regime change might bring, which could ultimately benefit India's regional rivals.