New Delhi, April 12 -- In the unfolding Gulf crisis, no space has gained greater strategic weight than the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime choke point. Long regarded as a secure artery of global energy flows, deemed as impervious to blockade, has now become far more consequential: a contested instrument of power, on which rests the future of the tenuous ceasefire.

The Middle East conflict has not only disrupted oil flows and raised insurance premiums. The blockade has fundamentally altered assumptions about Western naval dominance and the security of the waterway, potentially impacting regional strategic stability for decades.

At the centre of this transformation is Iran, whose expanding influence could shape the evolving power dy...