'The next two to three weeks will not be decided in Washington.' 'They will be decided in Tehran, in whatever calculation Iran makes about the costs of continued resistance against the costs of appearing to have yielded.'
India bought 1.87 million barrels of Russian oil per day in May so far, meeting approximately 40 per cent of its oil imports.
US President Donald Trump's proposed peace deal with Iran has drawn significant criticism from both Republican and Democrat senators, who express deep concerns that it would legitimise Tehran as a 'dominant force' and potentially allow it to retain control over the Strait of Hormuz and uranium enrichment capabilities.
In his resignation letter to US President Donald Trump, Kent called the conflict with Iran unjustified, contending that Washington, DC entered the war due primarily to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby rather than clear, direct threats to national security.
As Iran heads into crucial peace talks with the United States of America, here are the six men who decide the Islamic Republic's course.
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.
Iran has placed anti-personnel and anti-armour mines around the island, where US troops could potentially stage an amphibious landing.
Addressing a join press conference with British PM Gordon Brown, US President Bush said that failure in Iran would send a message to the world that the US cannot be counted upon. He added that it was important to succeed in Iraq to defeat the Al Qaeda and to thwart Iran's 'ambitions' of acquiring nuclear weapons. Bush and Gordon both dismissed speculation that the relationship between the two was not as 'special' as that between Bush and former British PM Tony Blair.
Iran hosted a large send-off rally for its World Cup team in Tehran, despite ongoing concerns about visa issues for entry into the United States, where the team is scheduled to play its group matches.
For weeks, the war skirted the edge of catastrophe without tipping over. Missiles flew, there was much destruction, commanders were assassinated, cities across the Gulf and even in Israel struggled to absorb the shock. But one line held: Energy infrastructure, the arteries of the global economy, remained largely untouched. That is no longer true. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Obama talks about Iraq and Afghanistan in his address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.
Analysts warn that global markets are significantly underpricing the risk of an oil price shock, with Brent crude potentially soaring to $150 per barrel if the West Asia conflict escalates or damages critical oil and gas infrastructure. This could lead to severe inflation and economic repercussions, particularly for import-dependent nations like India.
Following through announcements with enforcement of measures is key, as a run through recent Indian economic history shows, points out A K Bhattacharya.
'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.'
'In India, there is this first generation migrant, say from a small village in UP. He didn't go to the Gulf to buy a big house but make the life of his family better.' 'He may have paid 1 lakh rupees to an agent to go to the Gulf. Imagine what will happen to him and his family if he has to come back. He and his family will become poor again.' 'He went to the Gulf to come out of poverty, but this war will make his family trapped in poverty once again.'
A large number of secret documents related to the Iraq war will be released in the next anticipated spill by WikiLeaks, many times more than the 90,000 documents concerning the Afghan war made public by the online organisation in July.
Processed diamond exports from India, which meets nearly 80 per cent of global demand, have been hit by the Iraq war and a deadly flu-like virus in South East Asia, industry officials said.
The Asia Pacific electronics industry continued to flourish despite the SARS outbreak, though the slowdown caused by the Iraq war did have an impact on the industry, according to Gartner.
United States President Barack Obama has marked the end of the Iraq War by lauding the "extraordinary achievement" of his country's troops. He paid tribute to the slain soldiers and their families in a speech at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. "Tomorrow, the colours of the United States Forces Iraq, the colours you fought under, will be formally cased in a ceremony in Baghdad. Then they will begin their journey across an ocean back home," the BBC quoted Obama as saying.
Delivering a speech at Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio on Thursday, McCain said: 'By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq War has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension.'
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran's Supreme Leader, is reportedly recovering from injuries sustained in an attack. Reports indicate he is participating in meetings and decision-making despite his condition.
'Mojtaba Khamenei supervised the most recent repression in December 2025 and January 2026 which remains ongoing.'
We know in our heart that speaking the truth on this stupid Iran war will anger Trump and so we look the other way because if we look him in the eye the bully will straighten us out, asserts Aakar Patel.
The Federation of Indian Pilots, said the union has written to the DGCA raising concerns over the extension.
The question is whether the clocks allow enough time for two deeply mistrustful sides to get there, and whether the surface calm holds long enough for the paddling to produce something before the ceasefire ends on April 22, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
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 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 people who are outraging, they don't have any substantial argument. They are enraging over manufactured memes and manufactured figures.'
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.
Italy rejects a proposal by Trump envoy Paolo Zampolli to replace Iran at the FIFA World Cup 2026, as officials insist qualification must be earned on merit.
Indian companies, however, are now paying a premium of $6-$7 a barrel for Russian oil, compared with discounts of $8-$10 a barrel before the start of the conflict.
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.
For that to happen America does not have to lose. It only has to do the right thing, asserts Aakar Patel.
Blair, however, stopped short of a full apology for the war, saying, "I find it hard to apologise for removing Saddam. I think, even from today in 2015, it is better that he's not there than that he is there."=
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 ongoing conflict in West Asia is severely disrupting Bikaner's food exports, causing delays, rising costs, and impacting the supply of popular snacks like bhujia and papad to Gulf and European markets.
