'In such a scenario, Iran could proclaim itself victor, rebuild, re-enforce its diminished regional proxies to further destabilise neighbouring nations and take control of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.'
Trump may strike. He may announce productive talks and extend again. He may do both at the same time. Iran will not open the Strait on someone else's terms, so no matter what happens, that problem will remain unsolved. And the IRGC will still be collecting its $2 million toll from every ship bold enough to ask permission to pass.
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.
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
This has also raised concerns over undetected infiltrations from across the Line of Control and terrorists potentially residing in the outskirts of cities and villages, they said.
'China's basic purpose of taking the Shaksgam Valley was access to the Indian Ocean.'
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
The well-fought defensive battles in Aksai Chin and eastern Arunachal, in remote and forbidding locations such as Galwan, Rezang La, Gurung Hill and Walong, effectively halted Chinese advances not once but twice during the campaign. These engagements, fought with grit and without adequate support, were not immediately known to the world in 1962, points out Dr Kumar.
India has rejected China's response to the detention of an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh at the Shanghai airport, asserting that the border state is an integral part of the country. The incident involved Pema Wang Thongdok, who was detained for 18 hours for holding an Indian passport.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that China mediated tensions between India and Pakistan, a claim disputed by India which maintains that the matter was resolved bilaterally.
A female suicide bomber of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) blew herself up at the entrance of the headquarters of a paramilitary force in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, triggering a prolonged gunfight in which six militants were killed, security officials said on Tuesday.
Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh, who arrived on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, briefed Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah about the recent reports of Chinese army incursions in Ladakh.
On the outskirts of Shanghai, in a run-down neighbourhood, a People's Liberation Army base has been built for China's growing corps of cyber warriors.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army's eastern theatre command continued its military drills around Taiwan for a second consecutive day on December 30, involving naval, air and ground forces in what it described as a demonstration of joint operational and blockade capabilities.
The brigade that conducted the drills was from the PLA's Tibet Military Command and is one of China's two plateau mountain brigades.
The Battle of Lhagyala on November 23, 1962, fought by the 4 Rajput Regiment against the Chinese PLA, remains a forgotten chapter of heroism, with no survivors left to tell their story.
'In my experience of politics, I have seen political grips and political chokes are mostly hidden. The average person cannot see them,' Rahul Gandhi said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that his country respects Russia's relations with India, as he called for strengthening Islamabad's ties with Moscow during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing.
The agreement was to disengage from remaining standoff sites along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), two days before a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
There have been more than 100 face-offs and 150 transgressions by the Chinese army into the Indian territory near the Line of Actual Control in the Ladakh sector this year.
Former Bigg Boss contestant Tehseen Poonawalla has hit back at trolls who have been criticising Salman Khan after the teaser of Battle of Galwan was released on his birthday.
'The tools of warfare are changing. The MoD must deepen its engagement with technology thinkers that can present compelling visions of where warfare may be heading.'
'Should China's interest in the Teesta River projects be approved, it would likely result in heightened Chinese presence near the Siliguri corridor.'
Today's situation in the Shaksgam Valley is the consequence of what happened in Gilgit in 1947. But is India ready to militarily get back its territories? asks Claude Arpi.
China's Defence Ministry says the militaries of China and India are making "great progress" in implementing the disengagement agreement to end over four-year-long standoff in eastern Ladakh. Spokesman Sr Col Wu Qian said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun had a positive meeting in Vientiane, Laos, last week, and the two sides are implementing the settlement reached between the two counties. The two ministers agreed to implement the important consensus reached between the top leaders and promote stable relations between the two countries, the spokesman said.
At the end of the discussion, the older Monpa said that if today the Chinese were to come inside India, "I will fight and kill them", prudently adding, "if they are of my age, if they are younger soldiers, I will not be able to fight". The entire village had a good laugh.
'The BNP's election manifesto lists grievances against India, mirroring the attitude of past BNP governments.' 'Political parties have been careful not to say bad things about China.'
Security forces have recovered a Chinese-made M-16 assault rifle from the three militants killed Thursday during an anti-infiltration operation along the Line of Control in Uri, with the Army describing the recovery as "unusual".
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Vice Admiral K Swaminathan highlights concerns over Pakistan's arms procurement and China's growing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean Region.
In 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, a multi-domain combat mission against Pakistan in response to cross-border terrorism. The operation involved precision strikes, military retaliation, and diplomatic measures, marking a significant shift in India's security policy.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said he interacted with soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army along the Sino-Indian border near Tawang during a visit to an Indian Army post on Diwali.
The Indian Army bravely prevented the Chinese PLA's attempts to unilaterally change the status in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector on December 9 and confronted it with firmness, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.
The Indian Army began patrolling at Demchok on Friday, days after Indian and Chinese troops completed disengagement at the two friction points in eastern Ladakh, Army sources said.
Once the OS layer is opened to the State, it doesn't close, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Family of former Bangladesh prime minister Khalada Zia, who remains in a critical condition, is preparing to transfer her to London for medical treatment. Her son, Tarique Rahman, lives in London.
Freedom of speech is subject to reasonable restrictions and it does not include the freedom to make defamatory statements against any person or the Indian Army, the Allahabad High Court has said, rejecting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea to quash summons against him for alleged derogatory remarks during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022.
The Indian Army has commenced a verification patrolling at Depsang, the second friction point in eastern Ladakh, the government said on Saturday.
Amid its raging dispute with Japan over the sovereignty of islands in East China Sea, the Chinese military has conducted exercises with amphibious tanks practising stealth landing on the territory.
New Delhi might have loudly welcomed an age of multipolarity, hedging and strategic autonomy. But it seems the winner in that game is Islamabad, not us, points out Mihir S Sharma.
