The Commerce Ministry has convened a meeting of exporters, shipping lines, freight forwarders and officials from other ministries on Monday to assess the impact of escalating tensions in the Middle East region on India's trade. The US and Israel jointly launched military strikes on Iran on Saturday. Iran responded by firing drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations around the Gulf, and also at the global business hub of Dubai. The ministry has called the meeting in a hybrid mode to assess the impact of the evolving situation on India's trade, the official said. Exporters have expressed serious concerns that the war will affect trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Both are key for movement of ships. It connects India to the Gulf region, North America and Europe. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President SC Ralhan said the ongoing conflict has already begun to disrupt established global logistics channels. Air rou