INDIA PERSPECTIVE

New Delhi poses the question nobody else asks: is the American blockade actually working? The Times of India headlines 'Is Trump's Hormuz blockade a success?' and reveals, citing Vortexa data, that 34 Iran-linked tankers have circumvented restrictions since the blockade began. Among them, at least six carried confirmed Iranian oil, representing approximately 10.7 million barrels. At a discount to Brent prices, these volumes represent roughly $910 million in revenue for Tehran. Yet Trump told CNBC that 'the blockade has been a tremendous success' and that the U.S. 'fully controls the strait.' The article notes that CENTCOM claims to have redirected 28 vessels, but the Times of India contrasts this with 34 tankers passing through anyway. India is not a neutral observer: the Iranian tanker Derya failed to unload its cargo in India before a sanctions waiver expired on Sunday. The supertanker Dorena, intercepted by an American destroyer, was sailing off India's southern coast. New Delhi measures every movement in the Indian Ocean as a potential affront to its maritime sovereignty. India is the world's third-largest oil importer and every barrel blocked at Hormuz is one barrel New Delhi will pay more for elsewhere.