India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday (March 24, 2026) reviewed the West Asian war with senior armed forces officials in New Delhi, even as he asked the military to learn lessons from the regional conflict.
Rajnath Singh took stock of the West Asian situation and its effects on India’s defence preparedness at a meeting with top military commanders, secretaries of various departments within his ministry, and the DRDO chairman.
In the meeting, Rajnath Singh was briefed about the global and regional security scenario, the impact of a possible escalation of the ongoing conflicts on India, as well as the challenges and opportunities presented by the current geopolitical situation.
“The impact of the situation on the supply chain management towards procurement and production of defence equipment, including maintenance and serviceability of existing equipment, was also examined,” a Ministry of Defence statement said.
Rajnath Singh directed that operational and technological lessons of the ongoing conflict should be studied continuously in order to improve India’s preparedness.
“We need to formalise a comprehensive integrated roadmap for the next decade, factoring in the lessons learnt, challenges and opportunities going forward, whilst ensuring Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) and operational readiness across all fronts,” he said.
The ongoing West Asian war, which began on February 28 after the US and Israel hit Iran with missiles and airstrikes, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at his office compound in Tehran.
Since then, Iran has retaliated, striking at American and Israeli military assets all over the Gulf region, including its neighbouring nations, apart from enforcing a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about 20% of the world’s oil and gas traffic passes.
Since the beginning of this week, US President Donald Trump has halted military operations against Iran for five days, announcing that talks with Tehran over the weekend had been “productive”, though the Iranians have dismissed his claims as “fake news”.