India, Aug. 31 -- Six months into the US-Iran war, the conflict appears to have moved far beyond its original military and nuclear objectives. What began as an effort to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, missile programme and regional proxy network has instead evolved into a wider contest over control of sea lanes, energy flows and the credibility of American power in West Asia.

In a conversation with Senior Anchor Aayesha Varma on Point Blank, Hindustan Times Executive Editor Shishir Gupta described the conflict as a strategic stalemate with consequences reaching from the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific - and with India's energy, shipping and regional connectivity interests increasingly at stake.

The imme...