• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Srinath Raghavan"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie India"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie India",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [
    "Security Studies"
  ],
  "regions": [
    "United States",
    "India",
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media
Carnegie India

As US-Iran Tensions Mount, What India Can Learn from the Oil ‘Tanker War’ in 1980s

Last week, Britain impounded an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar, claiming that the vessel was carrying oil to Syria in violation of the European Union’s sanctions.

Link Copied
By Srinath Raghavan
Published on Jul 9, 2019
Project hero Image

Project

Security Studies

India’s evolving role in regional and global security is shaped by complex dynamics. Experts in the Security Studies Program examine India’s position in this world order through informed analyses of its foreign and security policies, focusing on the relationship with China, the securitization of borders, and the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific. 

Learn More

Source: Print

Last week, Britain impounded an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar, claiming that the vessel was carrying oil to Syria in violation of the European Union’s sanctions. A senior adviser to the Iranian government responded that if Britain failed to release the vessel, Iran would be forced to seize a British tanker. Coming on the heels of Iran shooting down an American drone that had allegedly violated its airspace and US President Donald Trump’s subsequent revelations about his administration’s unimplemented plans for retaliation, the latest incident underscores the risks that lurk in the mounting confrontation between the United States and Iran.

Read the Full Text

This article was originally published by the Print.

About the Author

Srinath Raghavan

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Srinath Raghavan is a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie India. His primary research focus is on the contemporary and historical aspects of India’s foreign and security policies.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    Recovery, Resilience, and Adaptation: India From 2020 to 2030
      • +3

      Rajesh Bansal, Anirudh Burman, Rudra Chaudhuri, …

  • Commentary
    View From New Delhi

      Srinath Raghavan

Srinath Raghavan
Nonresident Senior Fellow
Srinath Raghavan
Foreign PolicyUnited StatesIndiaMiddle East

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    As It Turns 25, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Reflects the New World Order

    With the growth in points of friction between the great powers, organizations like the SCO will continue to play a role in the strategic adaptation of the smaller powers caught between them.

      Temur Umarov

  • People dancing in the foreground, with a group of people in suites watching and an Air China plane in the background
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The Two Key Takeaways From Xi’s Egypt Visit

    Amid celebrations of bilateral ties was a deeper focus on stability in the Middle East.

      Amr Hamzawy

  • Carney Canada EU Trump
    Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Is Canada Leading a Third Way?

    Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has twice inspired praise for standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump: at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Is Carney showing a third way better than the EU has in dealing with the Trump administration?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Less of America is More

    Middle Eastern states should welcome an accelerated U.S. disengagement from their region. 

      Michael Young

  • upward-facing view of ornately tiled buildings
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Performance Art or Meaningful Collaboration?

    Xi, Putin, and other regional leaders are back-slapping in Bishkek, but the SCO has yet to answer the most serious questions about continental Asia's economic future.

      Evan A. Feigenbaum

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.