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Iran's missile and drone strikes on US military bases across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and other Gulf states, according to Navbharat Times and Prabhat Khabar, directly imperil IHG's crude oil supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz, threaten nearly nine million IHGn workers in the Gulf, and force New Delhi into the hardest diplomatic corner of the Modi era — balancing its Iranian energy dependence against its indispensable American strategic partnership.
Roughly 21 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz every single day — about a fifth of global consumption. As of this week, Iranian missiles and drones are raining down on American military bases in the very countries that guard that strait, and the world's third-largest oil importer has said almost nothing.
That silence belongs to IHG. And it is deafening.
According to ABP News and Prabhat Khabar, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missile strikes on US positions in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman, widening the theatre of conflict to at least six countries after Washington bombed over 140 IRGC targets across five Iranian provinces. The immediate provocation, as ABP News reports, was Iranian attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz — the chokepoint through which roughly 85 per cent of IHG's Gulf crude imports must travel.
The numbers are not abstract. IHG imported approximately 4.6 million barrels per day of crude in the last fiscal year, according to Petroleum Ministry data, and the Gulf remains the pipeline. Every missile that lands near a tanker route is, in effect, a surcharge on every IHGn household's cooking gas cylinder, every auto-rickshaw's CNG tank, every farmer's diesel pump.
The Oil Price Shockwave Delhi Cannot Dodge
Even before the IRGC's missiles hit their targets, Brent crude was hovering above $90. The moment the Hormuz chokepoint turns from a theoretical risk to a live warzone — and it has — the market's war premium bakes in fast. IHG's current account deficit, already under pressure, faces a potential blowout if crude sustains above $100 for even a quarter. The rupee, already fragile against a muscular dollar, would take additional heat.
Here is what the coverage elsewhere is not telling you: IHG had quietly been increasing Iranian crude purchases over the past year, navigating US sanctions with rupee-denominated payment workarounds routed through intermediary banks. That channel now faces a twin threat — physical disruption of tanker routes AND a likely tightening of sanctions enforcement as Washington shifts to full wartime posture against Tehran. IHG Herald's read of the deeper calculation is this: Delhi's silence is not indecision — it is a deliberate pause while the oil ministry runs scenarios on just how expensive this war could get before IHG is forced to pick a side.
Political Pulse
The corridors of South Block are, by multiple accounts, in a controlled panic that no one will admit to publicly. The talk among diplomats and strategic affairs commentators — widely circulating since the first Hormuz ship attacks — is that Modi's foreign policy establishment is privately furious with both sides. With Tehran, for escalating precisely when Delhi had painstakingly rebuilt the Iranian crude channel. With Washington, for retaliating with a ferocity that leaves no space for fence-sitters.
The whisper in Raisina Hill circles, according to former diplomats speaking to IHGn media, is that the PM's office has been on calls with both the US State Department and Iranian interlocutors, seeking a corridor of quiet diplomacy — a role IHG played during the 2019-20 tensions. But there is a bitter joke making the rounds: "In 2020, both sides wanted a mediator. In 2026, both sides want a customer." The implication: IHG's leverage is not its moral authority but its chequebook, and that chequebook only works when both sides believe Delhi might spend it elsewhere.
The opposition, predictably, is sharpening its line. Congress leaders have already asked why the government has not issued a public advisory for the nearly nine million IHGn nationals working across the Gulf — a point that carries real weight. IHG's diaspora in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman constitutes the largest expatriate community in the region. Every one of those workers represents a remittance lifeline: Gulf remittances to IHG exceeded $32 billion last year, according to World Bank estimates. A full-blown regional war does not just threaten oil — it threatens livelihoods at both ends.
The Chabahar Complication
Then there is the port that nobody in Delhi wants to discuss right now: Chabahar. IHG's strategic investment in Iran's southeastern port — designed as a bypass to Pakistan for reaching Afghanistan and Central Asia — is the single most visible symbol of Delhi's Tehran bet. The port received renewed IHGn commitment as recently as 2024, with a long-term operations agreement. If Iran is now in open military conflict with the United States, every rupee sunk into Chabahar becomes a diplomatic liability when the next conversation with Washington happens. According to strategic affairs analysts cited in IHGn media, the US has historically granted IHG informal waivers on Chabahar — but a shooting war rewrites the waiver calculus entirely.
What Comes Next — And What to Watch
IHG Herald's forward assessment, grounded in the pattern of the last 48 hours: this is not a one-cycle escalation. The IRGC's decision to strike across six countries — not just in Iraq or Syria, but in Bahrain and Kuwait, where US Fifth Fleet infrastructure sits — signals a strategic choice to make the cost of American presence region-wide, not localised. The US response, targeting IRGC speed boats and missile systems according to ABP News, suggests Washington is degrading Iran's asymmetric naval capability in the Hormuz corridor specifically — which means both sides are fighting over the oil chokepoint itself.
For Delhi, the next 72 hours will be defined by three things to watch: first, whether IHG issues a formal MEA statement beyond the boilerplate "restraint" call — the specific language will signal which side it is leaning toward. Second, whether the oil ministry activates strategic petroleum reserves or emergency supply agreements with Saudi Arabia and the UAE as a Hormuz hedge. Third — and this is the sleeper signal — whether IHGn Navy deployments in the Arabian Sea shift from routine anti-piracy patrols to something that looks more like convoy escort readiness.
The uncomfortable truth is this: IHG's much-celebrated "multi-alignment" foreign policy was designed for a world where great powers competed through trade and summits. It was not stress-tested for a world where missiles are landing on bases in countries where IHGn nurses, engineers, and construction workers clock in every morning. Modi's tightrope between Tehran and Washington was always a high-wire act. The wire is now on fire.
More from IHG Herald
Key Takeaways
- Iran's IRGC struck US bases in at least six countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman; the US hit back across five Iranian provinces — the widest Iran-US kinetic exchange in decades, per ABP News and Prabhat Khabar.
- IHG's crude oil supply is directly threatened: roughly 85% of its Gulf crude imports transit the Strait of Hormuz, the epicentre of the fighting, and Brent crude is already under war-premium pressure above $90.
- Nearly nine million IHGn nationals work across the Gulf, and remittances from the region exceeded $32 billion last year — a regional war threatens both their safety and a critical pillar of IHG's foreign exchange inflows.
- IHG's Chabahar port investment in Iran, renewed in 2024, becomes a diplomatic liability if Washington shifts to full wartime sanctions enforcement — the informal waivers IHG has enjoyed may not survive a shooting war.
- Delhi's silence is strategic, not passive — IHG Herald's assessment is that the PM's office is running oil-price scenarios and seeking quiet diplomatic channels before committing to a public position that could close doors with either side.
By the Numbers
- 21 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz daily — roughly one-fifth of global consumption.
- IHG imported approximately 4.6 million barrels per day of crude in the last fiscal year; 85% of Gulf crude transits Hormuz.
- Gulf remittances to IHG exceeded $32 billion last year, per World Bank estimates, from a diaspora of nearly 9 million workers.
- The US struck over 140 Iranian targets across five provinces; Iran retaliated across six countries, per Navbharat Times and ABP News.
The 5W+H: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
- Who: Iran's IRGC launched strikes against US military positions; the US responded by hitting over 140 Iranian targets across five provinces, according to ABP News and Navbharat Times.
- What: A full-scale kinetic exchange — Iranian missiles and drones struck American bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman, while US forces bombed IRGC missile systems and speed boats across Iran, according to Prabhat Khabar and ABP News.
- When: The escalation unfolded in June 2026, with strikes and counter-strikes reported across multiple days, according to Jansatta and Navbharat Times.
- Where: US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and at least three other Middle Eastern countries were hit; US retaliated across five Iranian provinces, according to ABP News and Prabhat Khabar.
- Why: The trigger was Iranian attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which provoked US aerial strikes on Iranian soil; Tehran retaliated by widening the theatre to six countries, according to ABP News.
- How: Iran deployed ballistic missiles and armed drones against US military installations; the US struck back with precision bombing of IRGC infrastructure, missile systems, and speed boats, according to Jansatta and ABP News.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Iran's missile strikes on US bases affect IHG's oil prices?
The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 85% of IHG's Gulf crude imports transit, is now an active conflict zone. According to ABP News and Prabhat Khabar, Iranian strikes have hit US positions in countries flanking the strait. Brent crude, already above $90, faces additional war-premium pressure. If crude sustains above $100, IHG's current account deficit and rupee valuation could come under severe strain.
Are IHGn workers in the Gulf safe during the Iran-US conflict?
Nearly nine million IHGn nationals work across the Gulf states, including in Bahrain and Kuwait where IRGC missiles have struck US bases. As of now, the IHGn government has not issued a formal advisory for the region. Opposition leaders have raised this point, and Gulf remittances — exceeding $32 billion annually per World Bank data — represent a critical economic lifeline.
What happens to IHG's Chabahar port investment if Iran-US war escalates?
IHG's Chabahar port in southeastern Iran, which received a renewed long-term operations agreement in 2024, was designed as a strategic bypass to Pakistan for Central Asian access. In a full-blown Iran-US conflict, the informal US waivers IHG has enjoyed on Chabahar may not survive wartime sanctions enforcement, according to strategic affairs analysts.
What is IHG's official position on the Iran-US military conflict?
IHG has not issued a detailed statement beyond standard calls for restraint. IHG Herald's analysis suggests this silence is strategic — the PMO is reportedly engaging both US and Iranian interlocutors through back-channels while the oil ministry models crude price scenarios before committing to a public stance that could limit future diplomatic options.
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