US Vice President J D Vance is currently in Switzerland, leading critical technical talks with Iran to advance diplomatic efforts on Iran's nuclear programme and secure a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon, following a recently signed memorandum of understanding aimed at de-escalating West Asian hostilities.
The Iranian delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, arrived in Islamabad for talks with the US, carrying images of victims from the Minab school attack on their official flight.
The US Central Command announced a new wave of strikes against Iranian military infrastructure, aiming to degrade Tehran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels. This comes as US President Donald Trump described the situation as a 'skirmish' and suggested Iran wants to 'make a deal,' while Iran's Foreign Minister warned of a 'decisive response' to any aggression.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is on a state visit to Pakistan to discuss the full implementation of an agreement signed between Iran and the US, alongside regional and international developments. The visit also aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation across various sectors, following recent high-level talks between the US and Iran in Switzerland regarding regional security.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has launched self-defence strikes against multiple targets in Iran, citing ongoing Iranian aggression. This action has led to Iran's Red Crescent placing emergency centres on high alert amidst reports of explosions in several Iranian cities. Concurrently, Iraqi media claims Iran retaliated with a missile strike on a US air base in Erbil.
An art exhibition in New Delhi showcased drawings by children killed in a school bombing in Iran, offering a poignant reminder of the human cost of conflict.
Heartbreaking scenes unfolded in Minab, Iran, as mourners gathered to bid farewell to the victims of the Israeli strike on a school on February 28, 2026.
The United States and Iran are engaged in indirect talks aimed at developing a framework for a possible agreement, according to Iran's ISNA News Agency. Intensive mediation efforts are underway, but it remains uncertain whether a final agreement is within reach.
China has condemned the attack on an elementary school in Iran and pledged USD 200,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance.
Frankly, was it really necessary in the middle of a fratricidal war for External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to travel to Abu Dhabi for a one-on-one with the sheikh on April 12?Or, for National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to follow up on April 26? Or, for PM Narendra Modi to follow through today? There are no easy answers, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
Satellite imagery and expert analysis suggest that a deadly explosion at a school in southern Iran last week was likely caused by a United States airstrike that also targeted a nearby compound linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to media reports.
A United States missile strike has reportedly hit an educational facility in Khomeyn in central Iran, according to a report by Al Jazeera citing Iran's Mehr news agency. The site was identified as the Dr Hafez Khomeyni School.
As the negotiations continued, the Iranian government said on social media that "talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad entered the expert-level stage as economic, military, legal, and nuclear committees joined in".
Iran blames the US for 'maximalism' and 'shifting goalposts' leading to the collapse of the Islamabad talks.
A 44-year-old Iranian woman with a US Green Card was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of trafficking weapons on behalf of the Iranian government and is expected to appear in court on Monday.
The US-Israeli military campaign, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury" by Washington, has entered its third day, with US President Donald Trump stating that operations would continue "until all of our objectives are achieved."
It remains unclear whether United States President Donald Trump or Iranian authorities will pursue the offer.
Iran launched retaliatory military strikes targeting Israel and American military bases across the region, including in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Friday claimed that Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, is "wounded and likely disfigured" in strikes by the US on the country.
Iran has blamed the US for disruptions in oil and gas shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, citing 'destabilising actions' as the cause amid the ongoing West Asia conflict and rising energy prices.
'American stature has been reduced because they have not been able to achieve their aims.'
Trump may strike. He may announce productive talks and extend again. He may do both at the same time. Iran will not open the Strait on someone else's terms, so no matter what happens, that problem will remain unsolved. And the IRGC will still be collecting its $2 million toll from every ship bold enough to ask permission to pass.
India-based Iranian actresses Mandana Karimi and Elnaz Norouzi share their deep concerns and anxieties about the escalating crisis in Iran, and reveal the personal toll on their lives and the Iranian diaspora.
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.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
Following reports of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death, widespread protests erupted in Kashmir, with demonstrators expressing strong anti-US and anti-Israel sentiments.
Tensions escalate at the UN Security Council as the US and Israel defend their military actions against Iran, while Iran condemns the strikes as war crimes, raising fears of a wider Middle East conflict.
When everyone has footage and no one can verify it, the loudest voice wins, notes Prem Panicker who begins a daily blog on the War in the Middle East.
'Despite the large number of missiles and drones we have already launched, we still possess reserves and missile cities whose doors have not yet been opened,' says Iran's Consul-General Saeid Reza Mosayeb Motlagh.
'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.'
