Iran has confirmed its participation in peace talks hosted by Pakistan, aimed at resolving the conflict with the US and Israel, despite concerns over ceasefire violations.
Uncertainty surrounds the planned second round of peace talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad, as both sides engage in brinkmanship. Despite Pakistan's security preparations, Iran has yet to confirm its attendance, citing a lack of seriousness from the US in pursuing diplomacy and violations of the ceasefire.
Two Indian nationals have been confirmed dead and one is missing following attacks on merchant vessels amidst the ongoing conflict in West Asia. The Indian government has reiterated its commitment to the welfare of its citizens in the Gulf region.
Trump seems to have estimated that Ghalibaf is a pragmatic politician who is receptive to close relations with the US and is enthusiastic about fostering business and economic ties in particular, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan is playing a key role in facilitating talks between the US and Iran, but the future of these negotiations remains uncertain. Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, no dates have been set for a second round of discussions.
The US Embassy acknowledged the attack in a post on X, urging Americans to avoid the facility 'until further notice' and announcing that all appointments had been cancelled.
Gold and silver prices saw a significant decline in the national capital, with silver falling by Rs 7,800 to Rs 2.43 lakh per kilogram and gold by Rs 1,500 to Rs 1.54 lakh per 10 grams, as investors booked profits amid persistent doubts over the durability of the West Asia ceasefire.
The US blockade on Iranian ports is aimed to curb Iranian energy exports, thereby crippling its economy to force Iran back to the negotiating table, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, ended lower after a spectacular rally, with the Sensex tumbling 931 points, as renewed tensions in West Asia, particularly the risk to the ceasefire deal after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, dampened investor optimism.
US President Donald Trump has shared an article suggesting that the option of enforcing a naval blockade was available in the context of Iran, as peace talks ended in a stalemate in Islamabad after differences of opinion arose between the two parties on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear capacities.
According to Hezbollah, it fired a swarm of drones at radar sites and control rooms at the base on Tuesday, describing the move as retaliation for Israeli strikes.
High-level peace talks between the US and Iran, facilitated by Pakistan, aim to de-escalate the conflict in West Asia and potentially reshape regional stability.
Iran has put forward a comprehensive 10-point framework that it says forms the basis of a complete resolution.
The IRGC said the strikes were conducted in support of offensives by Hezbollah and residents of southern Lebanon, and described them as the beginning of a series of pre-announced operations against Israel.
Benjamin Netanyahu declares that the joint Israel-US campaign is successfully 'crushing' Iran, eliminating existential threats and weakening the regime's regional influence.
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.
Authorities are urging the public to rely on official sources for information and avoid spreading rumours.
Indian chess grandmaster Koneru Humpy defends her decision to withdraw from the Candidates tournament in Cyprus due to safety concerns amid regional tensions, stating that playing peacefully is impossible when surrounded by warships.
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.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has welcomed the ceasefire between the US and Iran and invited delegations from both countries to Islamabad for peace negotiations.
...reopen for up to six months. Until then, the Strait stays nearly closed. The world pays. And no one, including the man who started this, can say when it ends, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
April Fools' Day has amused pranksters for centuries, though no one can quite pin down where it truly began.
'As result, Netanyahu 'convinced' Trump to go to war with the help of overoptimistic Israeli intelligence assessments, essentially explaining to him that they only need to bomb Iran for 3-4 days, and the regime would then collapse.' 'Rather unsurprisingly, Netanyahu is ever since blaming his own intel service for the entire operation failing.'
Trump claimed on social media that recent US-Iran discussions were 'very good and productive' and aimed at a 'complete and total resolution' of the conflict.
IDF chief stressed the urgent need for legislative measures, including a conscription law, a reserve duty law, and an extension of mandatory military service.
Trump has made it clear: the US will not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until a deal is signed.
An Indian national sustained a minor injury in Abu Dhabi after debris from an intercepted ballistic missile fell in a residential area. Emergency teams responded to the incident, and authorities urged the public to rely on official sources for information.
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 cost of the war is being counted not in the corridors of power in Washington or Tehran, but in Firozabad's darkened furnace rooms, Howrah's idle casting sheds, and a barbershop in Kochi where the wait is suddenly, inexplicably, an hour long, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
TransUnion Cibil CEO Bhavesh Jain highlights the improved retail portfolio quality in January but stresses the need for lenders to continuously engage with borrowers on credit usage and repayment, similar to the approach taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the impact of the Iran war on credit quality is still being assessed.
Indian carriers have cancelled over 10,000 flights since the onset of the West Asia conflict, as escalating tensions and airspace restrictions disrupted international operations, a senior government official said.
The Congress party has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic efforts following the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran, facilitated in part by Pakistan. The party claims this development undermines Modi's strategy and exposes his perceived failures in foreign policy.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
China and Pakistan have jointly proposed a five-point peace plan to address the ongoing conflict in West Asia, focusing on de-escalation and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Amid rising tensions in West Asia following a series of strikes and counter-strikes, the United States Embassy in Muscat on Tuesday instructed its staff to shelter in place.
Chaffing under public ridicule in the US as well as internationally for having 'lost' the war, Trump is under immense pressure to do something, cautions Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Iran has launched a fresh wave of missile attacks against Israeli and United States-linked targets as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it fired some of its heaviest missiles in the latest phase of its retaliatory campaign, while Israel Defence Forces alleged that many of the projectiles carried cluster bomb warheads.
'On behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I express gratitude and appreciation for my dear brothers HE Prime Minister of Pakistan Sharif and HE Field Marshal Munir for their tireless efforts to end the war in the region.'
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.
Since 1945, the United States has carried out aerial bombing operations in an alarming number of countries.
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