Photo – Alonso Reyes/Unsplash
Many people in India took a sigh of relief when the news came that Iran had agreed to let the India-bound oil and gas carrier ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Currently, Iran has blockaded this thin strip through which the oil and gas carriers must pass in order to take these energy resources to the world.
India had been battling a severe oil and gas crisis, with prices escalating and gas cylinders becoming a rare commodity.
However, there are media reports about statements from the Foreign Minister S Jayshankar, who is happy that he has gone some way with Iran to get these oil and gas carriers past the Strait of Hormuz. However, he also mentions that there is no blanket arrangement with Iran and every ship carrying the Indian flag has to be individually allowed. He further says that India has many more ships there which have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
From the above, it appears that while India has had some success with Iran in getting a few ships out of the blockaded area, there is still a long way to go to restore the oil and gas crisis to normalcy.
Meanwhile Trump has been calling for its allies to send warships to free the Strait of Hormuz. The allies have not yet responded in affirmation. Australia and Japan have refused to send war ships. On the other hand, Iran has said it is prepared to defend itself.
In such a situation, India needs to tread very cautiously to meet its energy crisis.
See also the health crisis in West Asia because of the conflict.
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