The Saudi-led coalition issued a stern warning to Yemen's Houthi rebels after intercepting a drone targeting Mecca, Islam's holiest city. Describing it as a "hostile and terrorist act," the coalition declared the security of holy sites a "red line" and vowed deterrent measures. This incident marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict, with both sides exchanging accusations of military operations and civilian targeting.
India has expressed serious concern over Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia's civilian infrastructure and economic assets, stating that such actions threaten regional stability and freedom of navigation through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the issue with his Saudi counterpart. India also condemned the targeting of commercial shipping after an Indian national went missing following an attack on a Panama-flagged ship off Oman.
Fighting in Yemen has intensified as Houthi rebels advance on strategic government-held areas like Marib and Taiz, putting pressure on Saudi Arabia to respond. The conflict is also linked to wider US-Iran tensions affecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, with former US President Trump commenting on the situation.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has reiterated the nation's unwavering commitment to the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, underscoring its role in regional security following an attempted drone attack near the holy city of Mecca. The pact, signed by Pakistan, Turkiye, and Saudi Arabia, establishes a framework for collective deterrence against armed attacks.
India has once again raised alarms over the escalation in the security situation in the Red Sea area and strongly condemned Houthi strikes targeting Saudi Arabian territory, "including on civilians and economic assets."
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has issued a stern warning that the Makkah Defence Alliance, a newly formed pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye, stands ready to activate its collective defence provisions in response to escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
New Delhi was told it had given something up; in reality it had stopped talking about it, notes Dr Abhishek Puri.
Iran has conveyed seven conditions to the United States through Qatari mediators for starting negotiations to end the ongoing war, while warning that Tehran is prepared for a "decisive war" if Washington rejects its demands.
Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty experienced significant declines in early trade, driven by soaring crude oil prices amidst escalating tensions in West Asia, coupled with weak global market trends and foreign fund outflows.
A proposed deal between Iran and Oman could grant Tehran control over vessels entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a senior Iranian source and two regional officials who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday, in what represents one of the most significant concessions made to Iran to date.
Indian stock markets, including the Sensex and Nifty, experienced a significant tumble in early trade, driven by escalating tensions in West Asia that pushed crude oil prices close to the USD 100-per-barrel mark, alongside selling in IT stocks and fresh foreign fund outflows.
The Indian rupee experienced its sharpest single-day decline in eight weeks, settling at 94.83 per dollar, primarily due to escalating crude oil prices and persistent risk-off sentiment driven by heightened geopolitical tensions and limited foreign inflows.
Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, experienced declines in early trade due to a significant surge in crude oil prices, exacerbated by escalating tensions in the West Asia. Track how Sensex, Nifty fared on July 23.
Crude oil futures surged over 3 per cent, snapping a three-session losing streak, as renewed military escalation in West Asia revived fears of supply disruptions, driving prices higher on both domestic and international exchanges.
Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty experienced a significant decline in early trade, with the Sensex falling over 500 points and the Nifty over 150 points, as Brent crude oil prices surged past USD 100 per barrel due to escalating geopolitical tensions in the West Asia. track sensex, Nifty on July 24.
An Indian-flagged merchant vessel, MSV Faize Noore Oliya, with 13 Indian nationals aboard, was attacked off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. All 13 Indian crew members have been successfully rescued, and India has condemned the attack, calling for an end to targeting commercial shipping in the region.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday signed a key joint defence agreement under which an attack against one of them will be treated as an attack against all of them, amid increasing security concerns in the wake of escalating tensions in West Asia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday discussed with a group of senior ministers the prevailing global security situation and how to maintain supply chain uninterrupted despite conflicts in different zones, including the Strait of Hormuz, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.
Marine war-risk premiums for West Asian shipping routes, particularly the Red Sea corridor, have surged by as much as 200 per cent due to renewed geopolitical tensions, with some high-risk transits seeing increases of over 1,000 per cent, according to industry brokers.
India has successfully evacuated 59 vessels, including 23 Indian-flagged and 36 foreign-flagged ships carrying cargo for India, from the Strait of Hormuz since March 1, 2026, amid fresh attacks and declining shipping traffic, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal informed the Rajya Sabha.
Sagiv Steinberg, CEO of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), described the recent US-Iran peace agreement as a temporary 60-day ceasefire, not a genuine peace deal, suggesting it's timed for the upcoming US midterm elections.
A new analysis by the Institute for the Study of War has warned that Iran could escalate its attacks on Israel by launching large missile salvos aimed at maximising psychological pressure on civilians.
The Gujarat CID Crime has dismantled an international cryptocurrency network worth Rs 226 crore, revealing links to a front organisation of the terror group Hamas. Nine individuals have been arrested in connection with the syndicate, which is implicated in cyber fraud, narcotics, and terror funding.
'General Subramani's appointment as military adviser in the NSCS has given him insight into decision-making at the apex level prior to formally taking over as CDS.'
Occasionally, the silence of the night shift would be shattered by an ear-splitting alarm: 'ALERT, ALERT... This is a security warning.' We were drilled to move away from the windows and avoid the lifts, recalls Krishna Kumar NP, a veteran Dubai-based journalist.
For India, China's Indian Ocean power projection, maritime domain awareness, dual-use ports, underwater surveillance, antisubmarinewarfare, naval exercises with Pakistan, pose considerable pressure, depleted India's strategic depth and marginalises Indian role, points out Srikanth Kondapalli.
The Americans can occupy Bab el Mandeb, claim to have 'solved' the Strait of Hormuz crisis, declare victory that President Trump so desperately needs, points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
'Iran cannot trust the USA because it considers the USA to be Israel-controlled. And no, the IRGC is not going to accept anything else but major US concessions.'
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 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 18 companies sanctioned include Marshall Islands-registered Changtai Shipping and Motionavigations Limited and UAE-based Indo Gulf Ship Management.
'American stature has been reduced because they have not been able to achieve their aims.'
'In a volatile global market, India is pursuing a low-risk, low-return policy, akin to a SIP -- slow, steady investment.' 'Pakistan is following a high-risk, high-return policy.'
We cannot simply have a 60-65 per cent import dependency in LPG, the bulk of which comes from just one volatile region -- West Asia, points out R Jagannathan.
After the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire and expressed hope for lasting peace, Pakistan took much of the credit for playing mediator between the two countries. However, Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies and former US Treasury counterterrorism analyst, said Pakistan is deeply indebted to China.
'US and Iran have not annulled the ceasefire, and the possibility of continuing negotiations remains open.'
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.
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.
Trump has said he would be present at the signing ceremony in Islamabad. Don't be surprised if the Pakistani hosts make it a grand event in the geopolitics of the region. Trump would love that, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Benjamin Netanyahu declares that the joint Israel-US campaign is successfully 'crushing' Iran, eliminating existential threats and weakening the regime's regional influence.
