The specific charge in this strike - that rockets were being prepared to carry sea mines into the strait - explains why a small island became a target. Mining is the cheapest way to close the Strait of Hormuz and the hardest to reverse: the navigable lanes are only about two nautical miles wide in each direction, so a modest number of mines can halt traffic, and clearing them takes weeks even for well-equipped navies. There is no alternative route with comparable capacity, which is why roughly a quarter of the world's seaborne oil passing through a channel this narrow is treated as a systemic risk rather than a regional one. For India the exposure is direct. A large share of India's crude oil and liquefied natural gas imports comes from Gulf suppliers whose cargoes must transit Hormuz, and Indian shipping, insurance costs and the current account all move with the perceived risk in the waterway. The strikes on Jordan and the United Arab Emirates also matter beyond the immediate damage, because they widen the war to the territory of states that are not parties to it - Jordan hosts US air assets, and the UAE is a major Indian trade and diaspora partner.