Former Central Command chief David H Petraeus suggests the US and Iran are likely to extend their ceasefire beyond the initial two-week period, citing willingness from both sides to continue negotiations.
The US blockade on Iranian ports is aimed to curb Iranian energy exports, thereby crippling its economy to force Iran back to the negotiating table, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Italy has denied the United States the use of the Sigonella military base for flights heading to West Asia, citing a lack of consultation and concerns over the nature of the flights. This decision reflects Italy's stance on avoiding escalation in the region, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government emphasises its desire to stay out of war.
The deployment could include infantry and armoured units, in addition to the 82nd Airborne Division, which is already stationed in the region.
The Iranian military has asserted that its forces successfully targeted and downed a US A-10 aircraft, according to a report by Al Jazeera.
Media reports based on intelligence sources say nearly half of Iran's missile launchers remain intact, while thousands of one-way attack drones are still part of its arsenal even after continuous strikes targeting military infrastructure over the past five weeks.
Israel initiated military action against Iran shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, capitalising on a fleeting opportunity and years of strategic preparation, according to Israel's ambassador to India.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged its citizens to immediately depart from several Middle Eastern countries, citing "serious safety risks."
Iran's ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, has described India as a "reliable and compassionate" partner while asserting Tehran's territorial authority over the Strait of Hormuz amidst ongoing regional tensions.
Amidst escalating tensions in West Asia, Iran claims to have inflicted heavy casualties on US forces in Dubai, a claim vehemently denied by the US Central Command, raising concerns about regional stability.
India has firmly denied allegations that the US Navy is using its ports to launch attacks against Iran, reaffirming its commitment to strategic autonomy and non-alignment in international conflicts.
China has condemned the attack on an elementary school in Iran and pledged USD 200,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance.
Top government sources in India have dismissed claims that the Indian Navy provided intelligence to the US regarding an Iranian frigate that was sunk by a US submarine.
Araghchi remarked that US messaging currently echoes the Vietnam War-era "Five O'Clock Follies," suggesting a systematic misrepresentation of military progress.
Trump said he is unwilling to make a deal with Tehran at this stage despite indications the country wants negotiations.
Referring to local sources, IRNA shared a video clip that it claims shows the downing of the American F-15 fighter jet in Kuwait.
The United States used an array of weapons in the strikes conducted against Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury on Saturday -- which included artificial intelligence services from Anthropic, according to a report by Reuters.
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 United States on Thursday launched a 'deadly' strike against the terror organisation Islamic State in Northwest Nigeria, President Donald Trump said.
Trump also asserted that US forces had struck hundreds of targets across Iran, including facilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and air defence systems.
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.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
Will rising tensions between US-Israel and Iran threaten crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, putting India's fuel prices, imports, and economic stability at risk?
'India was not obliged to protect the Iranian ship.' 'Once the Iranian ship left Indian waters, she was on her own.' 'Guilt tripping India is wrong.'
'Strikes into the Gulf countries are proof that the security guarantees offered by the US are ineffective and that the Gulf countries cannot rely on American security assurances for their safety.'
A Pakistan that is more secure in its relations with the US is also one that might well wish to indulge in another cross-border misadventure.
This is part of the reason the US advised some Americans to leave the region earlier Wednesday, with the State Department ordering non-emergency government officials to exit Iraq due to 'heightened regional tensions', CBS News reported.
Pakistan's Army chief Asim Munir visited Washington and met with top US political and military leaders, discussing mutual interests and regional security.
'If you fire two missiles at Jamnagar or ten missiles there, what do you think India will do?' 'India will fire 500 missiles on Tarbela and Mangla, destroy the Sukkur Barrage, destroy Karachi port.' 'When you start issuing threats, it should be with some sense and sensibility.' 'You shouldn't just shoot your mouth off just because you have appointed yourself field marshal.'
Weeks before the Pahalgam attack, Munir said Pakistan will not forget the issue of Kashmir, asserting, "It was our jugular vein." His comments were trashed by India.
If the only superpower, which calls India an ally, sees the region through an India-Pakistan prism, it is unacceptable. Rather than endorse India's sphere of influence, this undermines it, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Pakistan is "in an active counterterrorism fight right now and they have been a phenomenal partner in the counterterrorism world", the general said.
Two United States Navy pilots ejected safely over the Red Sea after their F/A-18 fighter aircraft was mistakenly shot down early Sunday in what military officials are calling 'an apparent case of friendly fire'.
The US government is seriously looking into the hacking of social media accounts of the military's Central Command, the White House said.
Earlier in response to Iran's rocket barrage on Israel on Tuesday night the UN Chief had said, "I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.."
'Given that the situation is quickly escalating, such attacks will affect the flow of crude in the short term from West Asia' Subhayan Chakraborty and Dhruvaksh Saha report.
The Indian contingent of 550 personnel is among the largest Indian deployments for an overseas military exercise.
Navy officials on Monday said that the swift response by the Indian Navy's mission deployed warship INS Sumitra ensured the safe release of the hijacked vessel and its crew.
The unexpected missile attack on a second India-bound ship carrying Russian crude, just three weeks after the first, has complicated matters for domestic refiners. India now counts the Vladimir Putin-led nation as its biggest oil supplier, according to Paris-based market intelligence agency Kpler, and these attacks come on top of US sanctions since December, where vessels that bring crude to India are facing heightened scrutiny. Panama-registered Pollux, which loaded crude at the Sheshkaris oil terminal in the Russian port of Novorossiysk on January 24, was scheduled to deliver the medium, sour Urals grade to Paradip port on February 28.
President Joe Biden and other top US leaders had been warning for days that America would strike back at the militias, and they made it clear it wouldn't be just one hit but a "tiered response" over time.
