India is navigating a complex diplomatic landscape, attempting to balance its 'forever honeymoon' with the Israel-UAE-Bahrain axis against its historical ties with Iran, as evidenced by recent high-level visits and evolving geopolitical realignments in the Middle East, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Iran's World Cup team conducted open training in Tijuana, Mexico, after relocating their base camp due to geopolitical tensions.
'We caught General Pervez Musharraf talking over the phone with his Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Mohammad Aziz. Musharraf was visiting China; Aziz was in Rawalpindi.'
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.
Iran's national football team is training in Turkey for upcoming friendlies as they prepare for the FIFA World Cup, facing heightened attention due to geopolitical tensions.
'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.'
People across Kashmir have donated generously to Iran, which has been ravaged by war. Donations included cash, gold, silverware, and copper utensils. A woman even donated gold kept as a memento of her husband, who died 28 years ago. The Iranian Embassy in New Delhi has expressed its gratitude for the support.
'Many have contributed in terms of gold and silver. Ladies in big numbers have contributed their home belongings and gold.' 'Some have donated their cars too.'
It is time for India to step up and get Russia, China and Europe to agree to a joint appeal to all combatants. Time is of essence, tomorrow may be too late, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
Iran was the chance to arrange a concert of nations, to actually be a Vishwaguru. Instead, we are watching from the sidelines as Pakistan, the same country that is apparently still at war with Afghanistan, hosts talks between US-Israel and Iran. The irony is hard to miss, points out Amberish K Diwanji.
If the Iranian regime needs to be punished for promoting quasi-terrorist outfits like Hezbollah and Hamas, then what about Pakistan which has spent decades exporting terror around the world, killing thousands, particularly in Afghanistan and India? asks M R Narayan Swamy.
Eid al-Fitr was celebrated across India with prayers for peace and brotherhood, alongside protests condemning US-Israel actions in West Asia.
At the same time, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said it is a matter between Iran and Pakistan.
'What the Americans want is to destabilise Iran. For destabilising Iran, you need access. 'One access is through Iraq. The other access is through Pakistan.'
Trump couldn't care less anymore about the Israeli demand for Iran's 'de-nuclearisation' and 'de-militarisation.' Trump pins hopes on a grand bargain with Iran as a partner in America First, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'America holds about 16% of IMF voting rights, giving it crucial influence over Pakistan's desperately needed bailout loans.'
At the end of the day, for many worldwide, the ongoing mutual attacks between Israel and Iran would seem a contest devoid of any moral high ground and only a bout between two ordinary adversaries, one that nevertheless risks spinning out of control into a larger conflagration, notes Shyam G Menon.
Islamabad also summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires here and issued a strongly worded condemnation of Iran's "violation of its airspace", the Foreign Office said.
The strikes were concentrated in an area in Pakistan's Balochistan where "one of the largest headquarters" of Jaish al-Adl was located, the report said.
... and there is no stopping its pan-Islamic agenda, cautions Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs said that the violation of Pakistan's sovereignty is "completely unacceptable" and warned of serious consequences.
Rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani addressed Syrians at the Ummayad mosque in Damascus after Bashar al-Assad resigned as president and fled Syria, December 8, 2024.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asked his Pakistani counterpart, on Monday, to quicky arrest the leaders of a Pakistan-based Sunni group blamed by Tehran for a suicide attack that killed 42 people, including top officers of the elite Revolutionary Guard.
The development comes amidst officials of the foreign ministries from the two sides exchanged goodwill messages.
The foreign ministry's statement came amidst the reported visit of Foreign Minister Sun Weidong to Pakistan on a mediation mission.
Pakistan on Thursday said that the country's air force struck terrorist hideouts in Iran's Siestan-Balochistan province, a day after Islamabad recalled its ambassador from Tehran in the wake of Iranian missile and drone strikes in Balochistan.
Rouhani said people who think Islam is a religion of "violence and terrorism" are wrong in their assessment.
China Thursday offered to play a 'constructive role' to ease tension between Pakistan and Iran following their missile strikes against each other over the last two days and asked the two countries to 'exercise restraint and calmness and avoid escalation'.
Tehran's streets were filled with thousands of Iranians celebrating their men's national soccer team's qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, defying threats by Islamic State to launch more extremist attacks in the country.
As China's Foreign Minister Sun Weidong visited Pakistan on a mediation mission, a statement from Foreign Ministry on Monday said it is maintaining close contacts with Pakistan and Iran to 'bridge their differences'.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after talks in Beijing between officials from the two rival Middle East powers, Iranian state media reported on Friday.
With an endless number of star kid debuts in the offing, we thought of looking at how this decade's brigade compares to their mums, dads, uncles or siblings.
Further deterioration of the US-Saudi relationship will have geo-economic and geopolitical effects, says Nitin Pai.
India should do what we can to ensure that our two friends do not get into a confrontation that is meaningless and ultimately damaging to everyone including us.
Pakistan has denied Iranian claims that the government is aware of the fact that Abdolmalek Rigi -- the alleged mastermind of the terror attack in Pishin on Sunday --- is hiding in Balochistan. Rigi is the chief of the underground Sunni outfit group Jundallah which claimed responsibility for the attack in Iran's Sunni-majority Sistan-Baluchistan province. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad too accused Pakistan of having links to the bombers who carried out the attack.
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The strategic reality that confronts New Delhi in West Asia today is that India has far more significant interests to preserve in the Arab Gulf, and as tensions rise between the Sunni Arab regimes and Iran, India's larger stakes in the Arab world will continue to inhibit Indian-Iranian ties, says Harsh V Pant.
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