India, March 4 -- The ceramic industry in Gujarat's Morbi district is facing a looming production crisis as an escalating Iran war chokes the supply of essential natural gas.

"Most of the gas and petroleum products come from GCC countries," said Manoj Arvadiya, president of Morbi Ceramic Manufacturers Association. "Currently, all vessels passing through are being stopped at an area controlled by Iran. A complete barricade has been erected there."

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries nearly nearly half of India's crude oil and gas supply every day, has come to a halt as the Iran war intensified and spread across the wider Middle East. Tehran's drone attacks, in retaliation to missile operations by Israel and the United St...