# West Asia for UPSC: Levant, Gulf, Hormuz, Red Sea, the Gaza Ceasefire, Iran and India's Engagement Source: https://tracknation.in/story/west-asia-for-upsc-levant-gulf-hormuz-red-sea-the-gaza-ceasefire-iran-and-india-s-engagement (TrackNation β€” free UPSC notes with PYQs) > West Asia and North Africa for UPSC: the map of the Levant, Gulf, Iran-Iraq, Yemen and Egypt, the four waterways, ten dates of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the 2025 Gaza ceasefire and UN Resolution 2803, India's Gulf numbers from the MEA Annual Report 2025, Operation Sindhu and the 2026 Hormuz crisis. Includes practice questions, the real PYQs and exact Mains questions. ## How UPSC Tests West Asia 🎯 **Exam priority: Tier-1. West Asia and North Africa is the single most-asked IR region.** *UPSC asked: 'two-state solution' (2018); Aleppo, Kirkuk, Mosul and Mazar-i-Sharif (2018); famine in Yemen and South Sudan (2018); a Black Sea, Red Sea and Adriatic map question (2019); the Levant (2022); Chad, Guinea, Lebanon and Tunisia (2022); Israel's Arab diplomacy and the Arab Peace Initiative (2023); the Sumed pipeline (2024); the Red Sea (2024); and the Strait of Hormuz (2026, provisional key).* Most of these questions have nothing to do with theory. They ask **where something is** or **what the recent event was**. In Mains GS-II the region comes as energy security (2017, 2025), Israel (2018) and the US-Iran nuclear pact (2018). The note has three boxes: **the map**, **the Israel-Palestine story**, and **the Gulf, Iran and India**. ## The Map: Blocks and Waterways Draw this map once and most West Asia questions become identification. ## The map: five blocks | **Block** | **Countries and places** | **What UPSC used** | | The Levant (eastern Mediterranean shore) | Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Jordan; Cyprus and parts of south-eastern TΓΌrkiye are sometimes included | 'Levant' itself (2022); Aleppo (Syria) | | The Gulf (GCC) | Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman: six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council; Iran is across the water and is not a member | 'Which is not a GCC member?' (2016: Iran) | | Iran and Iraq | Iran (Persian-Gulf north shore); Iraq with Kirkuk, Mosul, Basra, Baghdad, Kurdistan | Kirkuk and Mosul are in Iraq, not Yemen or Palestine (2018) | | The south-west corner | Yemen (Sanaa, Hodeidah, Aden), Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia | Yemen and South Sudan famine (2018); Red Sea (2019, 2024) | | North Africa | Egypt (Suez Canal), Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco | Tunisia's suspended Parliament (2022); Morocco on the Mediterranean (2019) | ## The four waterways you must place | **Waterway** | **Joins** | **Between** | **Why it matters** | | Strait of Hormuz | Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman | Iran (north) and Oman's Musandam (south); about 39 km (21 nautical miles) wide at its narrowest | About a fifth of the world's seaborne oil and a fifth of its LNG pass through it. Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and most of the UAE and Saudi exports must pass it | | Bab-el-Mandeb | Red Sea and Gulf of Aden | Yemen (Asia) and Djibouti and Eritrea (Africa); about 30 km wide | The southern door of the Suez route. Houthi attacks from late 2023 pushed ships round the Cape of Good Hope | | Suez Canal | Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea | Egypt; opened 1869; about 193 km long | The shortest Europe-Asia sea route; the Sumed pipeline (about 320 km) from Ain Sukhna to Sidi Kerir is its by-pass for oil | | Strait of Malacca | Andaman Sea and South China Sea | Indonesia (Sumatra), Malaysia, Singapore | Covered in the Indo-Pacific article | - **Hormuz decides who can sell.** Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq have no sea outlet except through it (2026 question). Saudi Arabia and the UAE have partial pipelines to the Red Sea and to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman. - **The Red Sea is arid.** It gets very little rain, no river flows into it and evaporation is high, which is why it is saltier than most seas (2024). ## Israel-Palestine: Dates, the Gaza Ceasefire and India's Stand UPSC treats the conflict as map-and-dates, not ideology. These are the dates and the 2025-26 developments. ## Israel-Palestine: ten dates | **Date** | **Event** | **Why it is asked** | | 1947 | UN General Assembly Resolution 181 recommends partition of Mandatory Palestine | Origin of the 'two-state' idea | | 1948 and 1967 | Israel is created and wins the 1948 war; in the 1967 Six-Day War Israel takes the West Bank with East Jerusalem, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan Heights | Which territory is 'occupied' | | 1978-79, 1994 | Camp David Accords and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty (1979); Jordan-Israel treaty (1994) | First Arab states to recognise Israel | | 1993 | Oslo Accords; the Palestinian Authority is created in 1994 | Basis of the two-state process | | 2002 | Arab Peace Initiative, proposed by Saudi Arabia and endorsed by the Arab League: full normalisation in return for withdrawal and a Palestinian state. Israel never signed it | 2023 PYQ | | 2007 | Hamas takes control of Gaza | Gaza versus West Bank governance | | 2012 | UN General Assembly accords Palestine non-member observer State status | Observer-status questions (2022) | | 2020 | Abraham Accords: UAE and Bahrain, then Morocco and Sudan, normalise with Israel | Statement-I of the 2023 PYQ | | 7 Oct 2023 | Hamas attack on southern Israel; Israel's war in Gaza follows | The conflict in the news | | Sept 2025 | The UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal (21 Sept) and France (22 Sept) recognise Palestine; on 12 Sept the General Assembly endorsed a declaration reviving the two-state solution, and India was among the 142 voting in favour | Recognition, India's vote | ## Gaza ceasefire and the Board of Peace (2025-26) - A US-brokered ceasefire has been in force since **10 October 2025**. On **17 November 2025** the UN Security Council adopted **Resolution 2803** (13 in favour, none against; China and Russia abstained), which backs a US-chaired **Board of Peace** and a temporary **International Stabilization Force** for Gaza until the end of 2027. - On **14 January 2026** the US announced the start of 'phase two': a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee under the Board of Peace. Hamas disarmament and troop contributions for the stabilisation force remain the unresolved issues (secondary sources; check the latest before the exam). - **India's position:** India recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, supports a negotiated two-state solution, and has projects worth about **USD 40 million** under implementation: the Super-Specialty Hospital in Jenin, the India-Palestine Centre for Empowering Women (Turathi), the Palestinian Institute of Diplomacy, and the completed National Printing Press in Ramallah (MEA Annual Report 2025). In the same year the Israeli Foreign Minister visited India (3-5 November), the first India-Israel Cyber Policy Dialogue was held, and India and Egypt held their inaugural Strategic Dialogue (October). ## Syria, Lebanon and Yemen in one paragraph each - **Syria:** the Assad government fell in December 2024 and an interim administration under Ahmed al-Sharaa followed (widely reported; not covered in the MEA report). Aleppo and Idlib are in the north. - **Lebanon:** a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect in November 2024; India's **INDBATT** battalion in the UN force in Lebanon completed 27 years of deployment in 2025. - **Yemen:** the civil war, famine conditions and Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping (from late 2023) explain both the 2018 famine question and the 2024 Red Sea questions. ## The Gulf, Iran and India: Numbers, Operation Sindhu and the 2026 Hormuz Crisis West Asia matters to India for five reasons: oil and gas, **9.8 million Indians** living in the Gulf, remittances and trade, maritime security, and connectivity (Chabahar, INSTC, IMEC). The MEA Annual Report 2025 gives the numbers. ## India and the Gulf in numbers | **Item** | **Fact (MEA Annual Report 2025)** | | Trade with the GCC | More than USD 178 billion | | Cumulative GCC FDI in India | About USD 28 billion | | Indian community in the Gulf | 9.8 million; about 700,000 in Oman; more than 315,000 in Bahrain (nearly a fifth of its 1.6 million population) | | Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), headquartered in Bahrain | India became a full member in 2023; the CMF has 47 members | | Saudi Arabia | PM's state visit to Jeddah on 22 April 2025 (third visit to the Kingdom); the Strategic Partnership Council now has four ministerial committees; two refineries in India agreed | | Qatar | Relationship raised to a strategic partnership during the Amir's state visit (February 2025); Qatar committed USD 10 billion of investment | | Oman | 70 years of ties; CEPA concluded during the PM's visit on 17-18 December 2025; PM conferred the Order of Oman (First Class) | | Kuwait | Strategic partnership after the PM's December 2024 visit; defence MoU ratified in 2025 | | Iraq | Seventh-largest trade partner (USD 32.16 billion in 2024-25); crude imports 50.90 million tonnes, 20.9 per cent of India's crude imports | | Iran | 75th anniversary of the 1950 friendship treaty; 20th Joint Commission on 7-8 May 2025 in New Delhi; Chabahar and INSTC are the connectivity link | | Jordan | PM's visit on 15-16 December 2025, the first full-fledged bilateral visit in 37 years (75th anniversary of ties) | ## Operation Sindhu and the 12-day war (June 2025) During the June 2025 Iran-Israel conflict, India's **Operation Sindhu** evacuated **3,597 Indian nationals** (with nine Nepalese, four Sri Lankans, 14 OCI cardholders and one Iranian national); Iran temporarily reopened its airspace for the flights. The PM spoke to Iran's President on 22 June and urged de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy. ## The 2026 Iran war and the Hormuz energy shock (secondary sources) - On **28 February 2026** the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran; Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed and Iran's Revolutionary Guards declared the Strait of Hormuz closed in the first days of March. Brent crude peaked near USD 126. India's Ministry of External Affairs called for restraint, de-escalation and respect for sovereignty without naming either side. - A temporary US-Iran ceasefire (8 April) was followed by a US naval blockade of Iranian ports (13 April to 29 May), a memorandum signed in Islamabad in mid-June and a collapse of the interim truce in July; ship attacks were still being reported in October 2026. - The Indian Navy's **Operation Urja Suraksha** (from about 23 March 2026) escorts Indian-flagged and India-bound energy ships in the Gulf of Oman; Indian seafarers were among the casualties on 1 March. Treat these dates as secondary-source facts and re-check them; the dated Current Affairs playlist follows the crisis month by month. ## How UPSC Could Ask This Next Here is how UPSC could turn this region into the next question. ## How UPSC could ask this next - **Chokepoint geography:** 'Which of these countries' ships must cross Hormuz / Bab-el-Mandeb / the Suez Canal?' The method is simple: is the country inside the Gulf, on the Red Sea, or on the Mediterranean? - **Pairs:** towns and regions (Idlib, Raqqa, Basra, Erbil, Hodeidah, Aqaba, Rafah, Golan, Sinai, Nagorno-Karabakh) matched with countries. Learn the capital and the three biggest cities of each West Asian country. - **Organisation membership:** GCC (six), Arab League (22 members, Cairo), OIC (57 members, Jeddah), OPEC (Gulf members), and 'which are not' variants. - **India-specific:** CEPA with Oman, the Strategic Partnership Council with Saudi Arabia, Chabahar, IMEC, I2U2, and Indian evacuation operations (Sindhu 2025). - **Mains:** energy security and West Asia; Israel-India depth; the US-Iran nuclear question; the Gaza plan and Board of Peace; India's balancing between Iran, Israel and the Gulf. ## Further Reading - the Ministry of External Affairs Annual Report, MEA and PIB press releases and joint statements, United Nations and treaty-body websites, and an atlas β€” the primary sources behind every fact above. ## Test Yourself: Practice Questions and PYQs Twelve practice questions on the map, the Gaza plan, the Gulf and India's engagement, followed by the real UPSC Prelims questions and exact Mains questions. ## Practice Questions **Q1.** The Strait of Hormuz connects - (a) the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea - (b) the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal - (c) the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden - (d) the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman **Answer: (d)** β€” It lies between Iran and Oman's Musandam peninsula. Bab-el-Mandeb joins the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden; the Suez Canal joins the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. **Q2.** The Bab-el-Mandeb strait separates Yemen from - (a) Oman - (b) Djibouti and Eritrea - (c) Saudi Arabia - (d) Somalia and Kenya **Answer: (b)** β€” It links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, so ships to the Suez Canal from the Indian Ocean pass through it. **Q3.** Consider the following countries: 1. Qatar 2. Iraq 3. Oman 4. Yemen Which of the above are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council? - (a) 1, 2 and 3 only - (b) 1, 2, 3 and 4 - (c) 2 and 4 only - (d) 1 and 3 only **Answer: (d)** β€” The GCC has six members: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. Iraq and Yemen are not members. **Q4.** Consider the following countries: 1. UAE 2. Bahrain 3. Saudi Arabia 4. Morocco Which of the above normalised relations with Israel in the 2020 US-brokered accords? - (a) 1, 2, 3 and 4 - (b) 3 and 4 only - (c) 1, 2 and 4 only - (d) 1 and 2 only **Answer: (c)** β€” The UAE and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords in 2020 and Morocco normalised with Israel in December 2020. Saudi Arabia has not normalised. **Q5.** Consider the following statements about UN Security Council Resolution 2803 (17 November 2025): 1. It endorsed a Board of Peace for Gaza. 2. It authorised a temporary International Stabilization Force. 3. China and Russia voted against it. Which of the statements given above are correct? - (a) 1 and 2 only - (b) 1, 2 and 3 - (c) 1 and 3 only - (d) 2 and 3 only **Answer: (a)** β€” It passed 13-0, with China and Russia abstaining, so statement 3 is wrong. **Q6.** India formally recognised the State of Palestine in - (a) 1993 - (b) 1967 - (c) 1988 - (d) 1947 **Answer: (c)** β€” India recognised Palestine in 1988 and has long supported a negotiated two-state solution. **Q7.** 'Operation Sindhu' was India's operation to - (a) evacuate Indian nationals from Iran and Israel during the June 2025 conflict - (b) deliver relief to Lebanon in 2024 - (c) rescue Indian sailors in the Gulf of Aden in 2024 - (d) escort ships through the Red Sea **Answer: (a)** β€” It evacuated 3,597 Indian nationals, with others from neighbouring countries, with Iran reopening its airspace. **Q8.** India became a full member of the Combined Maritime Forces, headquartered in Bahrain, in - (a) 2025 - (b) 2023 - (c) 2005 - (d) 2015 **Answer: (b)** β€” The CMF is a 47-member naval partnership; India's naval officers staff its task-force headquarters. **Q9.** Consider the following pairs: Town : Country 1. Idlib : Syria 2. Basra : Iraq 3. Hodeidah : Yemen 4. Aqaba : Egypt How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched? - (a) Only three pairs - (b) Only one pair - (c) Only two pairs - (d) All four pairs **Answer: (a)** β€” Aqaba is Jordan's Red Sea port, not Egypt's. The other three pairs are right. **Q10.** The Suez Canal, opened in 1869, joins - (a) the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea - (b) the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea - (c) the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea - (d) the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf **Answer: (c)** β€” It is in Egypt and is about 193 km long. The Sumed pipeline gives oil a by-pass. **Q11.** India concluded a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with which Gulf country during the Prime Minister's visit in December 2025? - (a) Oman - (b) Kuwait - (c) Saudi Arabia - (d) Qatar **Answer: (a)** β€” The CEPA with Oman was concluded on 17-18 December 2025, the visit in which the PM received the Order of Oman. **Q12.** During the 2026 Hormuz crisis, the Indian Navy's operation to escort Indian-flagged and India-bound energy ships is called - (a) Operation Ganga - (b) Operation Sindoor - (c) Operation Sindhu - (d) Operation Urja Suraksha **Answer: (d)** β€” Operation Urja Suraksha began around 23 March 2026 (secondary-source dates). Sindhu was the 2025 Iran evacuation and Sindoor the May 2025 response to Pahalgam. ### UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs) *Real UPSC Prelims questions, checked against the official paper and answer key.* **Q1.** (2018) The term 'two-state solution' is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of - (a) Yemen - (b) China - (c) Israel - (d) Iraq **Answer: (c)** β€” The 'two-state solution' is the proposal for an independent State of Palestine alongside Israel; it dates from the UN partition plan of 1947 and the Oslo process of the 1990s, and India has long supported it. **Q2.** (2018) Consider the following pairs: Towns sometimes mentioned in news : Country 1. Aleppo : Syria 2. Kirkuk : Yemen 3. Mosul : Palestine 4. Mazar-i-sharif : Afghanistan Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched? - (a) 3 and 4 - (b) 1 and 4 - (c) 1 and 2 - (d) 2 and 3 **Answer: (b)** β€” Aleppo is in Syria; Kirkuk and Mosul are in Iraq (both were battlegrounds against the Islamic State); Mazar-i-Sharif is in northern Afghanistan. Only pairs 1 and 4 are right. **Q3.** (2018) Very recently, in which of the following countries have lakhs of people either suffered from severe famine/acute malnutrition or died due to starvation caused by war/ethnic conflicts? - (a) Venezuela and Colombia - (b) Yemen and South Sudan - (c) Morocco and Tunisia - (d) Angola and Zambia **Answer: (b)** β€” The UN warned of famine conditions in Yemen (civil war and blockade) and South Sudan (civil war) in 2017. The other pairs are not countries of that kind of man-made famine. **Q4.** (2022) The term 'Levant' often heard in the news roughly corresponds to which of the following regions? - (a) Region along the eastern Mediterranean shores - (b) Region along Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa - (c) Region along North African shores stretching from Egypt to Morocco - (d) The entire coastal areas of Mediterranean Sea **Answer: (a)** β€” The Levant is the eastern Mediterranean coastal region: today's Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, with Cyprus and parts of south-eastern Turkey sometimes included. **Q5.** (2022) Consider the following pairs: Country : Important reason for being in the news recently 1. Chad : Setting up of permanent military base by China 2. Guinea : Suspension of Constitution and Government by military 3. Lebanon : Severe and prolonged economic depression 4. Tunisia : Suspension of Parliament by President How many pairs given above are correctly matched? - (a) Only two pairs - (b) All four pairs - (c) Only three pairs - (d) Only one pair **Answer: (c)** β€” Chad has no Chinese base (and the pair is the trap). Guinea's army suspended the constitution in September 2021, Lebanon is in a prolonged economic collapse, and Tunisia's President suspended Parliament in July 2021, so three pairs are right. **Q6.** (2023) Consider the following statements: Statement-I: Israel has established diplomatic relations with some Arab States. Statement-II: The 'Arab Peace Initiative' mediated by Saudi Arabia was signed by Israel and Arab League. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? - (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I - (b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I - (c) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect - (d) Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct **Answer: (c)** β€” Israel normalised relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan under the 2020 Abraham Accords (and earlier with Egypt and Jordan), so Statement-I is correct. The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative was a Saudi-initiated Arab League offer; Israel never signed it, so Statement-II is wrong. **Q7.** (2019) Consider the following pairs: Sea : Bordering country 1. Adriatic Sea : Albania 2. Black Sea : Croatia 3. Caspian Sea : Kazakhstan 4. Mediterranean Sea : Morocco 5. Red Sea : Syria Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched? - (a) 2 and 5 only - (b) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 - (c) 1, 2 and 4 only - (d) 1, 3 and 4 only **Answer: (d)** β€” Albania is on the Adriatic; Kazakhstan on the Caspian; Morocco on the Mediterranean. Croatia has no Black Sea coast and Syria has no Red Sea coast. **Q8.** (2022) Consider the following statements: 1. Bidibidi is a large refugee settlement in north-western Kenya. 2. Some people who fled from South Sudan civil war live in Bidibidi. 3. Some people who fled from civil war in Somalia live in Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? - (a) 2 only - (b) 3 only - (c) 2 and 3 - (d) 1 and 2 **Answer: (c)** β€” Bidibidi is in northern Uganda, not Kenya (the trap in Statement 1). South Sudanese refugees live there, and Somali refugees live in Kenya's Dadaab complex, so 2 and 3 are right. **Q9.** (2024) Consider the following pairs: Country : Reason for being in the news 1. Argentina : Worst economic crisis 2. Sudan : War between the country's regular army and paramilitary forces 3. Turkey : Rescinded its membership of NATO How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched? - (a) All three pairs - (b) Only one pair - (c) Only two pairs - (d) None of the pairs **Answer: (c)** β€” Argentina's economic crisis and Sudan's army-versus-RSF war were in the news; Turkey remains a NATO member (it joined in 1952), so only two pairs are right. ### Mains Practice Questions Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly β€” they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover. - "Energy security constitutes the dominant kingpin of India's foreign policy, and is linked with India's overarching influence in Middle Eastern countries." How would you integrate energy security with India's foreign policy in the coming years? - How does India balance its ties with Iran, Israel and the Gulf monarchies, and what do the June 2025 evacuation and the 2026 Hormuz crisis show about the limits of that balance? - Examine the significance of the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea route for India's energy and trade security. - Evaluate the Gaza ceasefire framework (Board of Peace and the International Stabilization Force) and India's stand on a two-state solution. ### UPSC Mains β€” Previous Years’ Questions on this topic (last 10 years) These are the **actual GS Mains questions** UPSC has asked on this theme β€” real proof of how, and when, it is tested. Try to write a full answer to each. - 2025 (GS-II): "Energy security constitutes the dominant kingpin of India's foreign policy, and is linked with India's overarching influence in Middle Eastern countries." How would you integrate energy security with India's foreign policy trajectories in the coming years? - 2019 (GS-II): 'Too little cash, too much politics, leaves UNESCO fighting for life.' Discuss the statement in the light of US' withdrawal and its accusation of the cultural body as being 'anti-Israel bias'. - 2018 (GS-II): "India's relations with Israel have, of late, acquired a depth and diversity, which cannot be rolled back." Discuss. - 2018 (GS-II): In what ways would the ongoing US-Iran Nuclear Pact Controversy affect the national interest of India? How should India respond to this situation? - 2017 (GS-II): The question of India's Energy Security constitutes the most important part of India's economic progress. Analyze India's energy policy cooperation with West Asian countries.