In the wake of the US bombing of three major Iranian nuclear sites, Tehran has indicated that closing the Strait of Hormuz for shipping is one of the options on the table to pressure its adversaries, experts say that any blocking or disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – a narrow passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea – will have a significant global and regional impact including on India’s energy security, strategic affairs. experts have said. It may be recalled that nearly 30 percent of global oil and a third of the world’s LNG (liquefied natural gas) passes through the Strait daily and its closure would immediately reduce global supplies triggering a spike in prices.
However, India’s Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, has assured the country saying India has enough energy supplies to meet requirements for several weeks and continues to receive supplies from several routes. He said that India is world’s third-largest oil importer and fourth-biggest gas buyer, adding, government has been “closely monitoring the evolving geopolitical situation in the Middle East since the past two weeks. He clarified that India has diversified its supplies in the past few years and a large volume of our supplies do not come through the Strait of Hormuz now.
The Minister’s statement is reassuring as people here are worried that if the Israel-Iran war continues, of which US too has become a part, prices of petroleum products may soar. The Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is threatening to shut down following US strikes on its nuclear facilities, is an important transit for oil coming from the Middle East. About 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil out of India’s total import of 5.5 million bpd transits through the narrow waterway. However, India has diversified sources — from Russia to the US and Brazil — which can readily fill any void.
Whether oil prices go up or not, the continuation of Israel-Iran war is threatening the world peace and it is in this backdrop that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on Sunday conveyed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian India’s “deep concern” over Iran’s conflict with Israel and called for immediate de-escalation of the situation through “dialogue and diplomacy”. The phone conversation initiated by Pezeshkian came hours after the US bombed three major nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — in Iran, bringing itself into the Israel-Iran conflict.
It goes without saying that war is no solution to any problem, in fact, it is the biggest problem itself. In modern wars there are no victors and no defeated ones but yes, the is death destruction and economic disasters. Let us all pray that good senses prevail on the conflicting countries and de-escalation take place so that the world can breathe easily once again.
