FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | Wednesday, 04 March 2026 SPORTS Mehbooba Mufti criticises OIC for silence over attack on Iran US inflicting heavy damage on Iran as 'big wave' of strikes looms: Trump India well stocked with crude oil, inventories of key petroleum products : Hardeep Puri | NATION WORLD BUSINESS BHUBANESWAR Real Madrid confirms Mbappe's knee injury Page 12 Page 09 Page 03 Page 10 Modi speaks to Arab leaders; Strikes across West Asia as renews appeal to end conflict regional conflict escalates AGENCIES STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 3 March BRIEFLY Air India brings back 149 passengers from Dubai: New Delhi: Air India on Tuesday said it operated a special flight from Dubai to New Delhi, bringing back 149 passengers and eight crew members amid the ongoing situation in West Asia. In a post on social media platform X, the airline said flight AI916D was the first flight by an Indian carrier to arrive in the national capital on Tuesday under the current circumstances. The airline described the arrival as a “heartwarming moment” as stranded passengers and crew returned home safely. (Page2) E ven as the Congress questioned his government’s stand on the West Asia situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to more Arab leaders on the ongoing crisis in the region. The PMO said Modi discussed the latest developments with the Sultan of Oman and the Crown Prince of Kuwait. Meanwhile, New Delhi reiterated its call for dialogue and diplomacy and strongly raised its voice in favour of an early end to the conflict. In a lengthy statement, an official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs noted that India had expressed its deep concern at the commencement of the conflict in Iran and the Gulf region on 28 February. Even at that time, India had urged all sides to exercise restraint, avoid escalation and prioritise the safety of civilians. Unfortunately, in the holy month of Ramadan, the situation in the region has deteriorated significantly and continuously,’’ he added. The spokesperson regretted that in recent days, the conflict has not only escalated but also spread to other nations. The destruction and deaths have mounted, even as normal life and economic activities come to a halt. ‘’As a proximate neighbour with critical stakes in the security and stability of the region, these developments evoke great anxiety,’’ he added. The spokesperson pointed out that there are almost one crore Indian citizens who live and work in the Gulf region. Their safety and well-being is of utmost priority. ‘’We cannot be impervious to any development that negatively affects them. Our trade and energy supply chains also traverse this geography. Any major disruption has serious consequences for the Indian economy,’’ he said. The spokesperson said that as a country whose nationals are prominent in the global workforce, India is also firmly opposed to attacks on merchant shipping. Already, some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing as a result of such attacks in the last few days, he noted. The spokesperson said Indian Embassies and Consulates in the affected countries remain in close touch with Indian nationals and community organisations, issuing regular advisories as appropriate. They have also extended all possible help to those stranded by the conflict. The Embassies and Consulates will continue to be proactive in addressing various consular aspects of this conflict, he added. The spokesperson said India is in touch with the governments of the region as well as other key partners. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have held discussions with their counterparts. The government, he said, will continue to closely monitor the evolving situation and take relevant decisions in the national interest. Tel Aviv, 3 March Iran struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital with a drone early on Tuesday as it continued targeting areas across the region. Across Iran’s capital, Tehran, explosions rang out overnight as the U.S. and Israel pounded the country with airstrikes. Iran and its allies have retaliated against Israel, neighbouring Gulf states and targets critical to the world’s oil and natural gas production. The conflict has also spread to L ebanon, wh ere th e Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, prompting Israeli retaliation. The Israeli military said it had deployed additional troops to southern Lebanon and taken up new positions at several strategic points near the border, while Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the Lebanese army was evacuating some of its positions along the border. The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Tuesday that Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site had sustaine d “s ome re cent damage” amid a U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign, though there was “no radiological consequence exp ected”. Natanz had earlier come under attack by the U.S. during the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June. U.S. State Department evacuations of non-emergency personnel and family members expanded to six nations on Tuesday with the inclusion of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE, long considered one of the safer corners of the Middle East, has been drawn into the conflict with interceptions and attacks. The other countries are Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger announced that a repatriation flight carrying Austrian nationals would depart on Wednesday from the Omani capital, Muscat. She said a first evacuation flight carrying “particularly vulnerable individuals” had already departed on Sunday. Nearly 18,000 Austrian citizens are registered in the region, authorities said. Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said her c o u n t r y wo u l d b e g i n evac uating “the most v u l n e r a b l e g ro u p s o f Lithuanian citizens” from the United Arab Emirates and other surrounding states. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that Poland had prepared aircraft for evacuations should the situation in the region worsen. He estimated that 14,000 Polish citizens are in the United Arab Emirates, along with a total of 400,000 EU nationals. More than 480 Polish citizens have already left Israel, Jordan and Lebanon, Tusk said. Govt signs contracts worth over Rs 5,000 cr to acquire choppers for Coast Guard, missiles for Navy Opposition targets government on Khamenei, sets tone for Budget session STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 3 March New Delhi, 3 March The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday signed contracts worth Rs 5,083 crore for the acquisition of six Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) Mk-II (Maritime Role) for the Indian C oast Guard and Surface -to -Air Ver tical Launch-Shtil missiles for the Indian Navy. The contracts were inked in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh at South Block in New Delhi. The contract for ALH Mk-III (MR), along with operational role equipment, an engineering supp or t package, and performance-based logistics support, valued at Rs 2,901 crore, has been inked with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bengaluru under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) category. These twin- engine helicopters incorp orate state - of-the -art features superior to the currently operated airborne platforms and are capable of undertaking a wide spectrum of maritime security missions from shore-based airfields as well as from ships at sea. The induction will significantly enhance the Indian Coast Guard’s capability for fulfilling the duties of safety and protection of artificial islands, offshore installations, and protection of fishermen & marine environment. The project envisages supply of equipment from more than 200 MSMEs and is expected to generate approximately 65 lakh man-hours of employment. The contract reinforces the Government’s commitment to Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the Make-in-India initiative, while further strengthening the nation’s maritime security architecture. The contract for the procurement of Surface-to-Air Vertical Launch - Shtil missiles and associated missile holding frames, valued at Rs 2,182 crore, has been signed with JSC Rosoboronexport, Russian Federation. The acquisition is intended to substantially enhance the air defence capabilities of frontline warships against a wide spectrum of aerial threats. VIBHA SHARMA The assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei in targeted US-Israel strikes has sparked Shia protests in India and also ignited a political firestorm in India ahead of Parliament's Budget Session, the second phase of which resumes 9 March. In a scathing criticism of the Narendra Modi government, senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said its silence on the targeted assassination of Khamenei is not neutrality but an abdication of responsibility. While raising serious doubts about the direction and credibility of India's foreign policy, she also demanded that when Parliament reconvenes for the second phase of the Budget Session, the government’s “disturbing silence” over what she described as a breakdown of international order must be debated openly and without evasion. “If such acts pass without objection from the world's largest democracy, the erosion of norms becomes normalised,” she warned in an article. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced “deep concern” over the escalation in West Asia, urging dialogue in his social media posts, neither was there any condemnation of the strikes on Iran, a strategic partner, nor was there any word on the killing of Khamenei. There has also been no official response from the BJP leadership on this issue. However, BJP sources speak of strategic caution given India’s ties with the US, Israel, and Iran, as well as its energy interests in the region. At the same time, they also highlight Khamenei’s past stance on sensitive issues such as Kashmir. Dismissing Gandhi’s criticism of the government as “misguided, politically motivated, and ridiculous,” they defend PM Modi’s foreign policy as clear and balanced amid India’s relations with the US, Israel, and Iran. “Khamenei had historically taken positions critical of India. After India revoked Article 370 in August 2019, Khamenei publicly expressed concern for Muslims in Kashmir. He frequently compared the situation in Kashmir to conflicts in Gaza, Yemen. In 2017, he had even called on the global Muslim world to mobilise and support the Muslims of Kashmir, a stance that drew sharp diplomatic protests from New Delhi,” they say. Analysts view the BJP’s silence as a pragmatic reflection of its multi-alignment foreign policy strategy. “It is also time for strategic restraint rather than public sparring,” they say. “The approach should be one of avoiding escalation on sensitive foreign matters, and preventing domestic polarisation amid Shia protests,” they add. While the 2029 Lok Sabha polls remain distant, the issue is expected to reverberate during the Budget Session. Congress is said to be considering moving motions for debate, potentially stalling parliamentary business and rallying minority support. Iran has described the attack as a “grave rupture” in international norms under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Gulf War jolts India’s energy lifeline as LNG cuts, soaring freight & $100 oil threat loom JAYANTA ROY CHOWDHURY New Delhi, 3 March Indian firms that use LNG are gearing up for cuts in supplies and higher prices for natural gas, which runs their turbines, arc furnaces, smelters, and other heavy machinery besides being feed for fertiliser and petro-chemical companies. Qatar which accounts for more than 40 per cent of India’s LNG supplies has announced shutting down of its liquefied natural gas facilities after Iranian drone strikes on Monday at the West Asian nation’s Ras Laffan complex. At the same time, the shipping price for very large oil tankers (called VLCCs) that can carry 2 million barrels of oil from West Asia to India, Japan, Korea and China reached a record high of USD 423,736, up by 94 per cent, according to the London Stock Exchange group. The war in the Gulf is forcing India to face up to an old but as yet unresolved dilemma of how to buttress its energy lifelines from a war in oil-rich West Asia. New Delhi’s response is part quiet contingency planning to insulate it from any coming oil price shock, while trying to reassure markets that the scale of its exposure will not impact India’s energy hungry economy. Approximately, about 60 per cent of India’s LNG imports and half of its crude oil imports of about 2.5 to 2.7 million barrels per day, transit through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Oman and Iran. Besides shipping costs and LNG shut downs, India has to contend with ever rising crude prices. The benchmark Brent crude price has already shot up to USD 85 a barrel at 5 pm IST on Tuesday as compared to USD 66 a month ago, and is forecast to touch USD 80 before end of day’s trading. Commodity traders expect crude prices to continue climbing to “near USD 100” within Friday if the war continues unabated. A prolonged disruption of crude, and gas supplies from the Gulf would reverberate through India’s economy, driving up prices, insurance costs, and logistical complexity almost overnight. India’s exposure to turmoil in the Gulf is hardly new. Each time the region has convulsed, whether during the Iraq wars, flare-ups between Israel and Lebanon, or attacks by Houthi militants in Yemen, oil markets across Asia have registered the shock. For India, the tremors are rarely abstract. They travel quickly from distant battlefields to refinery gates, factory floors and household budgets. The country imports most of its energy from Gulf producers including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. The greater danger for New Delhi is not a complete severing of supplies, which remains unlikely, but the cascading disruptions that follow conflict: sudden price spikes, shipping delays, higher insurance premiums and freight costs that erode India’s competitiveness as an exporting power. To cushion those blows, India has spent the past few years quietly redrawing its energy map. For the last four years, discounted Russian crude has served as a crucial buffer whenever Gulf flows have wavered because of war or other disruptions. Sources said “India is now exploring ways to increase purchases from Russia”, even as they weigh diplomatic conversations with Washington over possible sanctions flexibility for spot cargoes. At the same time, refiners have widened their net, stepping up imports from the United States, Venezuela, Africa and other non-Gulf producers. This diversification has given Indian companies greater latitude to reshuffle their crude slate in moments of stress. With refining capacity of about 258 million metric tonnes a year, with plans to expand refinery output by a sixth, India can process a broad array of crude grades, from light crude to the heaviest kind, a technical advantage that helps cut dependence on any one supplier.