Cabinet Committee convenes under PM Modi, discusses West Asia crisis

A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which the discussions unfolded on the ongoing West Asia crisis, and its possible impact globally, according to the sources.

The sources further pointed out that there could be a possibility that the supply of crude oil in India will be affected and the prices will increase in the international market amid the crisis.

Apart from ministers, senior officers were also present in the meeting held on Thursday.

“The meeting was held before the cabinet meeting yesterday. The West Asia crisis and its possible impact on India were discussed in the meeting, apart from senior ministers, officers were also present. Due to the crisis in West Asia, there is a possibility that the supply of crude oil in India will be affected and the prices will increase in the international market,” the sources said.

India has expressed its concern over the crisis in West Asia, and is closely monitoring the situation.

The sources further stated, “This may also affect trade with India. India has expressed its concern over the crisis in West Asia. India has said that this conflict should not take a wider form. India is closely monitoring the situation in West Asia.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Iranian missile attack on Israel as a “big mistake” and said Tehran would pay for it. “Iran made a big mistake today and will pay for it. The Iranian regime does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to take revenge on our enemies,” he had said.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also made a social media posting on the Iranian attack firing over 180 ballistic missiles on Israel. Khamenei captioned the post as “Victory from God and a near conquest…”.

In another post, he said, “The strikes of the resistance front on the worn-out and decaying body of the Zionist regime will be more striking.”

The Israeli Defence Forces launched precision strikes on the Lebanese capital in Beirut last week, which led to the death of Nasrallah. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that the airstrikes targeting Hassan Nasrallah resulted in civilian casualties, with at least six people killed and dozens injured.

Following the death of Nasrallah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Iran’s Ayatollah regime and asserted that those who target Israel will face ‘consequences’ and that “no location” in Iran or the Middle East is “beyond Israel’s reach.”

Notably, Hamas had launched a massive terror attack against Israel on October 7 last year, killing over 1200 people and holding over 250 as hostages, out of whom around 100 are still in captivity.

In response, Israel launched a strong counter-offensive, targeting Hamas units in the Gaza Strip. However, the mounting civilian toll has raised concerns over the humanitarian situation in the region. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, according to the Gaza health ministry.