India, May 16 -- Following a major escalation in the US-Iran conflict since February-March 2026, along with strict controls imposed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz, the Indian Navy, under Operation Urga Suraksha (energy protection), began maintaining a high-alert deployment in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Arabian Sea to secure Indian commercial shipping passing through the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz.

While Iran's theocratic leadership has maintained relations with India based on historic ties and a strategic partnership centred around the development of Chabahar Port, the IRGC has pursued its own agenda, which has included targeting Indian or India-bound merchant ships and tankers - perh...