Soleimani's killing may affect oil, 8mn Indians: Report

Any possible escalation of the US-Iran conflict stemming from the killing of Iranian Major-General Soleimani could affect India's energy supplies, foreign remittances and hamper the Chabahar port project

Escalation of tensions in any form between the United States and Iran following the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani could have a significant impact not only on crude oil supply and prices but also 8 million Indian expats living in the middle East says a report by Hindustan Times.

The United States carried out a strike that killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, a statement by the Pentagon said on Thursday. The deputy head of the Hashed, a pro-Iran militia, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was also one among the dead. The Pentagon’s statement said that President Donald Trump ordered the killing of the Iranian Major-General.

The region has seen a major exodus of Indian expatriates from the region whenever there have been conflicts says the newspaper, thus affected close to eight million Indians who live and work in West Asia. Remittances from Indian nationals in the region stands at $40 billion of the total $ 70 billion, India receives and any escalation could hit these remittances says the website.

Since the death of the General, oil prices have gone up over 4%. Rise of crude oil price is caused out of fear of the escalation taking the form of attacks on oil tankers owned by Iran. Such a rise could affect India’s energy supplies conveys the report.

Any possible escalation could also hamper the Chabahar port project, says the publication. The port is the gateway for supplies to be ferried from India to Afghanistan and Central Asian bypassing Pakistan.