New Delhi, April 6 -- With crude prices climbing and shipping lanes in peril, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spent Sunday on the phone with some of West Asia's most consequential voices, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, and UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The round of calls signals how seriously New Delhi is treating a crisis that now threatens the arteries of global energy supply.

The diplomatic activity came hours after US President Donald Trump issued an expletive laden warning to Tehran, threatening to strike Iranian power plants and bridges if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the nar...