New Delhi, April 30 -- The Strait of Hormuz chokehold inflames oil prices and causes jitters in India. In a seeming upturn, the Iranian ambassador to India met journalists on 13 April to say there is continual engagement with the Indian government. He is also reported to have said no Indian ships had been charged for passage through the strait.

That comfort disappeared on 18 April when two Indian tankers were fired at during passage through the strait by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran. An earlier tanker had gone through successfully, suggesting a fragmented command structure. The need of the hour, easier said than done, is to identify and engage with those multiple power nodes to achieve a synchronized policy toward...