India’s Ministry of External Affairs on 4–5 January 2026 issued a formal advisory urging Indian citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, citing “recent developments” and widening protests over spiralling inflation and the collapse of the Iranian rial, which has lost more than half its value in six months. The unrest, triggered in late December 2025 by shopkeepers’ strikes in Tehran, has since spread to over 20 provinces, with reports of at least ten deaths in clashes with security forces. While Tehran insists the situation is under control, New Delhi has asked Indians and PIOs already in Iran to register with the embassy in Tehran, avoid protest sites and monitor official channels for updates. For India, the instability threatens energy security, shipping through the Persian Gulf, and projects like Chabahar, even as U.S. sanctions and regional rivalries further constrain room for manoeuvre.