Despite a ceasefire agreement between Iran and the United States, the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked due to Iran's inability to locate and remove all the mines it laid during the conflict, hindering global oil and gas supplies.
India has officially refuted claims that Elon Musk was involved in a recent phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump.
The official 26-man squads for FIFA World Cup 2026.
Is the current rally telegraphing a durable peace plan in West Asia, boosted by United States (US) President Donald Trump's incoherent and contradictory posts on social media?
As many as 35 vessels, including cargo carriers and oil tankers, successfully navigated through the strategic maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz over the last 24 hours, according to Iran's state media reports citing a formal declaration by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy.
A few frantic calls later, the answer emerged: She had missed her connecting flight in London. Not because she was late. Not because she couldn't walk fast enough. She had simply gone to the wrong gate, sat down, and waited.
'They use the word curry in derogatory terms but I use it with pride. It's something which our grandmothers fed us and our body and brain functions on that.'
Elon Musk reportedly participated in a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the Iran crisis, raising questions about his involvement in diplomatic discussions.
US President Donald Trump warned that the United States is prepared to launch a military strike on Iran if peace negotiations in Islamabad fail, while Vice President JD Vance departed for talks in Pakistan.
Crude oil prices have surged to record highs due to escalating tensions between the US and Iran, raising concerns about supply disruptions and market volatility.
Yousef Pezeshkian, the son of the Iranian President, has confirmed that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is 'safe and sound'. This comes after certain reports claimed that he had been injured during the ongoing strikes by the United States and Israel, according to Al Jazeera.
Karex, the Malaysian company that makes roughly one in five of the world's condoms -- about five billion a year, supplying Durex and Trojan among others -- announced this week that it is raising prices by up to 30 percent. The reason is the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has made it clear: the US will not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until a deal is signed.
Crude oil prices experienced a sharp decline after US President Donald Trump announced a temporary halt to military strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure, easing geopolitical tensions and supply disruption fears.
Protests were held from coast to coast, with massive marches in major cities and smaller gatherings in suburban and rural areas across both traditionally Republican and Democratic states.
...is a way out, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War. What the indefinite extension produces is a prolonged condition of not-war-not-peace, in which oil markets cannot stabilise, Asian refineries cannot plan, European governments cannot stop subsidising consumption they cannot afford, and the next flashpoint -- a seized tanker, a miscalculated drone strike, a Truth Social post that claims too much -- is one news cycle away.
It remains unclear whether United States President Donald Trump or Iranian authorities will pursue the offer.
Pakistan is actively engaged in diplomatic efforts to facilitate negotiations between the US and Iran, with hopes of hosting a second round of talks in Islamabad.
United States President Donald Trump on Friday signalled the US intention of going all out in its campaign against Iran's Islamic regime, warning Iran to watch out for what would happen today and saying that the US was winning the conflict despite what reports claimed.
'As result, Netanyahu 'convinced' Trump to go to war with the help of overoptimistic Israeli intelligence assessments, essentially explaining to him that they only need to bomb Iran for 3-4 days, and the regime would then collapse.' 'Rather unsurprisingly, Netanyahu is ever since blaming his own intel service for the entire operation failing.'
The call came before Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed vengeance and urged citizens to continue their fight against the attacks by US and Israel.
US President Donald Trump stated he would not set a deadline for ending the conflict with Iran, claiming Iran's military capabilities have been severely weakened. He also said he would not use nuclear weapons and maintained the US has complete control over blockade measures against Iran.
The intriguing bit is that Trump is likely to attend the talks in Islamabad this weekend -- if he does, it will be the clearest signal yet that the US is ready to exit the war with some sort of win to show, since he cannot afford to go for the talks and return empty-handed, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War
'The next two to three weeks will not be decided in Washington.' 'They will be decided in Tehran, in whatever calculation Iran makes about the costs of continued resistance against the costs of appearing to have yielded.'
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are actively pushing Trump to take the war to its bitter finish and 'erase' Iran's presence in the geopolitics of the region. Simply put, the two most powerful Sunni Arab oligarchies are on the same page as Israel. Such interference increases the risk of a breakdown in dialogue between the US and Iran, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
Chaffing under public ridicule in the US as well as internationally for having 'lost' the war, Trump is under immense pressure to do something, cautions Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad in what analysts say is the formal opening of a new diplomatic formation that could reshape the post-war regional order. Their immediate goal is a ceasefire; their larger ambition is to ensure that neither Iran nor Israel emerges from this war in a dominant position. Pakistan's foreign minister then flew directly to Beijing and mooted a Chinese role as guarantor of any eventual agreement. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Indians returning from the Middle East share their experiences of fear and uncertainty as the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran disrupts travel and daily life, leaving many stranded and facing financial strain.
Four senior Indian-origin persons were killed in a car crash in West Virginia. The victims were reported missing from Buffalo, New York, and their vehicle was found off a steep embankment.
The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
The delegations from the US and Iran head to Islamabad on Friday, carrying a ceasefire that is already fraying, a Strait that is technically open and practically closed, and a negotiating agenda that would challenge even parties actually negotiating in good faith, which these groups are not. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
This weekend, Donald Trump has begun to say the quiet part out loud -- that he wants to take control of Iran's oil, a formulation more in line with his robber-baron style of international relations.
The 'rescue' operation occurred within kilometres of Iran's underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, assessed by the IAEA and US intelligence as holding a substantial portion of the country's 60 per cent enriched uranium stockpile. Retired senior US military officers have highlighted that the mission's footprint -- hundreds of special operators, multiple heavy-lift aircraft deep inside Iran -- appears outsized for recovering a single airman. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Amid escalating tensions, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh declares Iran's unwavering commitment to a 'heroic nationalist defence' against perceived American and Israeli aggression, vowing to resist what he calls an 'invasion' to the very end.
Parents of Kashmiri students studying in Iran have appealed to the Indian government to evacuate their children due to ongoing tensions and protests in the country. They cite difficulties in communication and travel arrangements.
USA batter Aaron Jones has been provisionally suspended for alleged fixing during the BIM10 league in Barbados in 2023-2024.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
A 21-year-old Indian-American student, Savitha Shan, was among four people killed in a shooting in Austin, Texas. The incident is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism due to evidence found at the scene and the suspect's residence.
