It may now be time to question the price India is paying for Israel's disregard of the serious undermining of India's energy security, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Yash's Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown-Ups has been postponed to June 4, due to the escalating Middle East conflict.
Brent crude prices surged sharply on Monday, rising by more than 25 per cent to $116.5 per barrel, amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, which has made crude prices bullish.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump discussed the Middle East crisis, with a focus on the Strait of Hormuz.
'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.'
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.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
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.
'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.'
Formula One has cancelled the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix scheduled for April due to escalating Middle East tensions, reducing the 2026 F1 calendar from 24 to 22 races.
'Every day the meter is ticking. Like a time bomb.' Shipping giants are billing Indian exporters up to $3,000 per container in war surcharges -- on cargo that sailed before the war began -- as the Strait of Hormuz shuts down.
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
Alliances fight wars effectively only when they share an endgame. If Israel acted without US knowledge, then the military alliance is operating without real coordination at the level of strategic targeting. Neither picture is reassuring in a war that is no longer regional in its consequences. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
'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.'
Will rising tensions between US-Israel and Iran threaten crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, putting India's fuel prices, imports, and economic stability at risk?
India is well-stocked with inventories of crude oil and key petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), to deal with short-term disruptions as the war intensifies in West Asia, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
While investors would focus on the results and guidance for the third quarter of financial year 2025-26 (Q3FY26) in the normal course of business, the US-Israeli attack on Iran and the latter's retaliation at Gulf allies of the US has forced them to weigh the consequences of the event.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a "full and immediate" ceasefire after a "long night" of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 70 times that he ended the conflict between India and Pakistan.
Following an examination and discussions held in the aftermath of the United States' decision to withdraw from dozens of international organisations, Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa'ar, has decided that Jerusalem will immediately sever all contact with several United Nations agencies and international bodies, citing what the government described as persistent bias, politicisation and actions hostile to Israel.
'India was not obliged to protect the Iranian ship.' 'Once the Iranian ship left Indian waters, she was on her own.' 'Guilt tripping India is wrong.'
'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.'
Among major engagements in 2026 is the visit of the European Union leadership, chief guests at the Republic Day parade.
Pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) reported a 14 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,210 crore in the December quarter of FY 2025-26 (Q3FY26) on low sales of cancer drug Lenalidomide in the North American market. The firm's revenue from operations grew to Rs 8,727 crore in Q3FY26, a 4.4 per cent Y-o-Y increase from Rs 8,357 crore recorded for the same quarter last year.
India and Israel on Tuesday signed a defence pact that will facilitate sharing of advanced technologies and promote co-development and co-production of key weapon systems and military hardware, in a major move to further bolster their already robust strategic ties.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated US President Donald Trump on the success of the first phase of a US-brokered peace plan for Gaza and reviewed trade negotiations during a phone conversation.
Iran on Monday launched multiple missiles at US military installations in Qatar and Iraq, including the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar -- the largest US military base in the region.
The Russians have termed Putin's visit to India, his first to this country since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, as 'Druzhba Dosti', which means 'friendship' in Russian and Hindi respectively.
The meeting, expected on September 25 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, will also be attended by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
'What we need to watch is how Saudi Arabia's financial assistance will be used by Pakistan. If the funds go to build their military hardware and operations, it should worry us.'
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
'The background for the Saudi-Pakistan agreement is the fact that the regional security order has collapsed due to the Israeli attack on Doha.' 'The Americans have largely abandoned their security guarantee for West Asia and the region has no choice but to look at alternatives.'
US President Donald Trump has cut short his visit to Canada, where he was to attend G7 Summit meetings, to return to Washington, DC, a day earlier amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a 'Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement', pledging that any aggression against either nation would be treated as an attack on both.
Glimpses from around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Rubio also listed the peace deal between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, 'a 12-day war that ended with an American operation that we're the only country in the world that could have done, hopefully pretty soon a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia.'
'Saudi-Pak defence pact is to anchor the defence and security of Saudi Arabia and not Pakistan, per se, with Islamabad being the junior partner.'
President Trump says the US is close to a trade deal with India, while also claiming to have stopped a war between India and Pakistan.
As per Israeli media, at least four people have been killed and several injured after an Iranian missile struck a residential building in Beersheba.
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani-led group's Haifa port in Israel was unharmed by the Iranian ballistic missile attack, with cargo operations progressing unhampered, sources said. Late on Saturday night, Iran targeted Israel's Haifa port and a nearby oil refinery in response to Tel Avi's attack on Iranian nuclear and other targets earlier this week.
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