21SEP

India says Saudi attacks must stop

2 min read

15:34UTC

New Delhi called the strikes on Saudi airports and oil sites unacceptable after an Indian died at Dammam, as thousands of Umrah pilgrims wait for flights home.

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Key takeaway

India demanded an end to attacks on Saudi Arabia after an Indian died at Dammam airport.

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called the attacks on Saudi civilian and energy sites "unacceptable" on Thursday 22 October and said they "must cease immediately"⁠¹. An Indian national was one of the two people killed at Dammam's King Fahd International Airport the evening before. The Indian embassy counts two Indians injured at Dammam; the Saudi Energy Ministry says a third was hurt at the Shaybah oilfield.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said about 3,000 stranded Umrah pilgrims (Muslims on the minor pilgrimage to Mecca, made at any time of year) came home from Saudi Arabia in the past week. Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of parliament, says 4,000 are still stuck after IndiGo, Akasa Air and Air India cancelled flights⁠².

At sea, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the 21 Indian crew of the Kuwait-flagged tanker Al Dasma are "completely safe"⁠³. Indian seafarers have died in this war before: a torpedo killed an Indian crewman on the bulk carrier Cape Dao off Musandam in September.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Millions of Indian citizens live and work in Saudi Arabia, and many more travel there for religious pilgrimage. Recent attacks have hit Saudi airports and oil sites, and some Indians have been killed or hurt. India's government has condemned the attacks and is bringing pilgrims home, but opposition politicians say thousands are still stranded because airlines have cancelled flights.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

About 2.5 million Indians live and work in Saudi Arabia, the largest group of foreign workers in The Kingdom. Their wages and remittances make Gulf safety a domestic issue in India, especially in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.

India also depends on both sides for energy and trade. It buys Saudi crude and needs Iran's Chabahar port for access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, so naming an aggressor carries a direct cost.

What could happen next?

Consequence
If cancellations continue, Delhi may have to charter flights or send military aircraft to bring pilgrims home.
Meaning
Condemning the attacks without naming an attacker keeps India's channel to Tehran open while it seeks safety for Indian crews at sea.

Source Landscape

This story draws on neutral-leaning sources

Primary parallel: In 1990, after Iraq invaded Kuwait, India evacuated more than 170,000 citizens, about 111,700 of them on 488 Air India and Indian Airlines flights from Amman over 59 days. It managed this while keeping relations with Baghdad, which controlled the exit routes.

Counter-parallel: In April 2015 Operation Raahat took about 4,600 Indians and 960 foreigners out of Yemen. India had to ask the Saudi-led coalition for pauses in air strikes to land at Sanaa, so its evacuation then depended on a party to the war.

Indian airlines lose revenue on the busy Gulf routes, and cancellations raise fares on the remaining flights through third countries. Remittances from Saudi Arabia support millions of Indian households, so a prolonged evacuation would reduce household income in Indian states that depend on Gulf work.

Consensus view: India's Ministry of External Affairs called the attacks on Saudi civilian and energy sites 'unacceptable' on 22 October and said they 'must cease immediately'. The statement names no attacker, so Delhi condemns the harm to its citizens without breaking with Tehran.

Counter-view: Asaduddin Owaisi, the opposition MP, puts the number still stranded at 4,000 after IndiGo, Akasa Air and Air India cancelled flights. His figure points to the weak link in Delhi's approach: it relies on commercial airlines rather than a state evacuation.

Key tension: Whether Delhi will run a state evacuation, which would admit that Saudi Arabia is unsafe, or keep relying on commercial flights.

First Reported In

Update #182 · Iran says it mined Hormuz and hit 7 ships

ETV Bharat· 22 Oct 2026

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Causes and effects

Caused by

Attack on Dammam airport kills two

India condemned the attacks that killed and injured Indian nationals in Saudi Arabia.

Occurred 21 Oct 2026

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UKMTO confirms one tanker hit near Bukha

India's shipping minister reported on the Indian crew of the struck Al Dasma.

Occurred 21 Oct 2026

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This Event

India says Saudi attacks must stop

Indian citizens are now among the dead in Saudi Arabia and the crews under fire at sea, and Delhi has publicly demanded the attacks stop.

Different Perspectives

Office for Budget Responsibility

The OBR's 28 October forecast assumed $82 oil for 2026 and 2027, from market prices for the ten working days to 19 August, and blamed dearer wholesale energy on the war without naming Iran. It expects CPI inflation close to 4% in early 2027 even at that price.

Hengaw, Kurdish rights group

Hengaw reported the 3 November hangings of Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi in Isfahan, saying Ebrahimi was tortured into confessing and that nine of 12 people sentenced to death in the case have now been hanged. Iran's judiciary holds that the defendants killed members of the security forces.

FINTRAC, Canada's financial intelligence unit

FINTRAC worked with the US Treasury on the 6 November designation of eight money services businesses in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. Treasury says the businesses still operate, some under new names, so closing them falls to Ottawa.

Abdul Qadir al-Dakhil, Governor of Nineveh

Al-Dakhil cancelled three Mosul International Airport contracts on 7 November over alleged links to armed groups, after meeting Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Baghdad. He named no group or company, and said the contracts will go to international companies.

Kuwait

Kuwait condemned the Houthi missile fired towards the Madinah region on 5 November and restated its support for Saudi Arabia, the Qatar News Agency reported. Its state tanker company, Kuwait Oil Tankers Company, is among the Gulf state fleets on Iran's expanded Hormuz list.

Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary

Treasury designated an alleged Chandigarh false-flag network on 4 November and eight Canadian exchangers on 6 November, while State sanctioned alleged MANPADS intermediaries. None of the actions touches an oil buyer; they target the paper, cash and procurement around Iran's trade.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.