NEW DELHI – US President Donald Trump has received an invitation from theIndian government to be the Chief Guest for next year’s Republic Daycelebrations, the Times of India reported on Friday.

The invite, which was sent in April this year, is expected to receive apositive response from the United States. The invite was followed up withseveral rounds of diplomatic engagement over the issue.

For his sheer unpredictability, Trump’s presence here, if he indeed choosesto come, promises to be even more dramatic than the one by his predecessorBarack Obama who was Modi’s first R-Day guest in 2015.

Recently, visiting US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, whoalso holds a cabinet rank in Washington, had a tough message for India tojoin the sanction regime against Iran. The message has sent India’s foreignpolicy mandarins struggling to balance relations with Trump Administrationand Iran — where the country has strategic and energy interests.

Haley earlier advised allies to rethink while choosing business partners.”I think as a friend, India should also decide if this is a country theywant to continue doing business with,” she said. She also admitted tellingPM Modi to cut Iranian oil use. “There’s a will, a political will from bothsides to figure out how to make this work,” she added.

“Prime Minister Modi very much understands where we are with Iran, hedidn’t question it, he didn’t criticise it, he understood it and he alsounderstands that (India’s) relationship with the US is strong and importantand needs to stay that way,” said the US envoy.

Maintaining that the US seeks a productive relationship with China, she,however, said her country doesn’t share the same democratic values, therebylimiting this relationship. She said the US supports India’s entry into theglobal nuclear club because India is a democracy and has a responsibleleader.