In his 19-minute address to the nation on Wednesday, his first since ordering strikes on Iran on February 28, US President Donald Trump offered little clarity on how he intended to wind down the conflict over the next “two to three weeks”. Instead, he talked up the war to his war-wary domestic constituency, claiming that the US was “on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly”. Despite his previous claims about “good” and “productive” talks with Iran, he signalled that he will escalate if Tehran does not agree to his terms. Even as he invoked “your children and your grandchildren’s future” as justification for the war, Trump cloaked it in ambiguity to keep all options open.

That’s of little comfort. Along with other countries, India, heavily dependent on the Gulf for energy supplies, must now brace itself to contend with this uncertainty. Even if the war were to end within Trump’s timeline of two to three weeks, the energy shock it has triggered will take longer to dissipate. Oil prices are likely to remain high for months after hostilities cease. Trump has washed his hands of the Strait of Hormuz despite control over it being key to what lies next. Shipping contracts, insurance and other arrangements will need to be renewed. It could take months to repair the oil and gas infrastructure that has been hit, and restoring production to pre-war levels will take time, delaying both price stabilisation and the normalisation of supply chains. The challenge, then, is to prepare the economy to withstand the consequences of whatever course Trump chooses. The US has long been the primary guarantor of Gulf security and, by extension, of the flow of energy to the global economy. That assumption can no longer be taken for granted — Trump’s speech underlined this.

Chairing a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting Wednesday, PM Narendra Modi directed concerned departments to “take all possible measures to ameliorate the problems of citizens and sectors affected” due to the war. But a larger and longer task lies ahead. India has made progress in diversifying energy sources and importing partners. This effort must continue, alongside a renewed push to explore and develop untapped oil reserves. India must expand its civil nuclear power programme. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has talked of measures to help exporters, which include “more balanced trade” with China. Delhi will need to be nimble in its diplomacy, striking arrangements like the one between Australia and Singapore, to keep energy supplies flowing.