India, April 3 -- The 2026 U.S.-Israel "Operation Epic Fury" that ended with the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran has shifted the regional landscape in the Middle East in ways few predicted even a year ago. It has forced India to navigate an unprecedented era of volatility.

What started as the horrific Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023, claiming roughly 1,200 lives and taking hundreds hostage, quickly proliferated. Hezbollah opened a second front from Lebanon on 8 October, Iran-backed militias launched missiles and drones from Syria and Iraq, and Yemen's Houthis turned the Red Sea into a shooting gallery by striking Red Sea shipping from November 2023 onward.

The March 2024 Houthi missile str...