New Delhi, June 16 -- It was a forex crisis fuelled by a volatile mix of oil and war in West Asia that led India to open up its economy. Flare-ups of hostility in that region are less impactful today, but Israel's Friday attack on Iran and push for regime change should make us sit up in alarm.

Within hours of Tel Aviv's Operation Rising Lion, the global price of crude oil spiked. Accusing Tehran of making a dash for nukes, Israel targeted Iran's military set-up and top leaders, apart from nuclear scientists, and some uranium enrichment sites. A day earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had held Tehran in breach of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The US first said Israel's action was unilateral, but the White House urged Ir...