A day after killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike in Beirut, Israel conducted widespread strikes in Lebanon on Sunday, killing over 100 people. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) also launched airstrikes on military targets in Yemen, specifically targeting Houthi-controlled sites, including power plants and a seaport.
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 purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
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.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Iran's Ayatollah regime and asserted that those who target Israel will face consequences and that no location in Iran or the Middle East is beyond Israel's reach.
Netanyahu's response came after a drone was aimed at his residence in the Israeli town of Caesarea. He and his wife Sara were not at home at the time of the attack.
'Mojtaba Khamenei supervised the most recent repression in December 2025 and January 2026 which remains ongoing.'
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
With the Iran war escalating sharply and crisis deepening in the global energy market, India on Monday unveiled a coordinated plan to support exporters and shippers caught in the fallout.
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.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
'I suspect that Bangladesh being given permission stuck in India's official craw, and this story was an attempt to balance the scales by giving the impression that a similar waiver had been given to India as well.'
When everyone has footage and no one can verify it, the loudest voice wins, notes Prem Panicker who begins a daily blog on the War in the Middle East.
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.
The air raids struck areas including the outskirts of Brital and Nasiriyah towns in the Bekaa Valley, Tallet al-Sunduq, Jarmak in Jezzine, and the Mahmoudiya and Khardali regions.
The threat of wars hovers over the negotiations in Oman, but the good part is that Trump called the talks to be 'very good' and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian responded that they 'constitute a step forward', points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has been cautioned by the United States and its allies against escalating the conflict in Israel. This comes after the deployment of US military assets to prevent a potential widening of the war, multiple US officials aware of the matter told CNN.
Once the OS layer is opened to the State, it doesn't close, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, shared an online compilation on Saturday, displaying images of both living and deceased captives.
Hezbollah's executive council's head Safieddine was presumed to be the successor of Hassan Nasrallah after he was killed in September, The Times of Israel reported.
The attack during a lecture in western New York left the prizewinning writer blind in one eye.
So far, most of the injured have been released. Currently, 106 people are being treated in hospitals, and another 149 are being treated in the emergency room.
As per the Israeli Air Force, the fighter jets attacked a number of terrorist targets of the terrorist organization Hamas throughout the Gaza Strip. Among other things, the planes attacked a military compound and a weapons warehouse.
Lebanon is grappling with widespread devastation following Israeli airstrikes. The attacks have caused significant damage to infrastructure and civilian areas, displacing hundreds of Lebanese citizens.
'Israel is counting on the United States to enter the fray on their behalf and perform destructive strikes against these targets that are beyond Israel's conventional capabilities.' 'They may well get their way if they start a war, because the United States is still committed to Israel's security, and it won't matter whether it is Trump or Harris in the White House.'
In the first acknowledgement of Israel's involvement in the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz on Monday, issued a stern warning to the Houthi rebels from Yemen of destroying their infrastructure and 'decapitating' its leaders.
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) launched targeted ground operations in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, focusing on Hezbollah strongholds and infrastructure identified through precise intelligence.
Asked about the whereabouts of Iran's 400 kilograms of 60-per-cent enriched uranium, Netanyahu claimed that Israel has "interesting intel" related to the issue.
Lebanon's health ministry said that women, children and medics were among those who were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, according to CNN report. Earlier, the Israeli army announced it struck about 300 targets across Lebanon on Monday.
President Biden directed the US. military to aid Israel's defence against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles that are targeting Israel.
A large number of men, women and children -- carrying black flags -- poured out on roads in Magam in Budgam and Zadibal in the city to protest against the killing, officials said.
As tensions continue to rise, the Israeli public remains on high alert, bracing for the possibility of further incidents.
Khalil al-Hayya, Sinwar's deputy and leader of Hamas' delegation during ceasefire negotiations, emphasised that the prisoners' return would not happen before the end of the aggression, AP reported.
It is crucial to prevent regional escalation and ensure the safe release of all hostages, Modi said.
Hady Habib is the first man representing Lebanon to win a singles main draw match at a Grand Slam in the professional era.
The IDF said that its target was the Hezbollah commander, who was responsible for the attack at the football ground in Majdal Shams.
Hezbollah is upset that the IDF exposed their plans to massacre Israelis, so they decided to target innocent civilians by firing a barrage of rockets, the IDF further said.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) intensified its campaign in Lebanon with targeted airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut, hitting key weapons depots and terror infrastructure overnight, according to a report by Times of Israel.
According to Lebanon's health minister, 51 people were killed and 223 wounded Wednesday in Israeli strikes.
