AI reduces the time taken to find a target and launch a strike. This has led to a major increase in the pace of the conflict, with one report mentioning nearly 900 strikes launched on Iranian targets in the first 12 hours of an operation.
In a significant victory for the government's anti-Naxal efforts, 108 Maoists, including 44 women, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district, citing disillusionment and the appeal of rehabilitation programs. The surrender also led to the recovery of a large cache of weapons and valuables.
'The US landed in this war without planning. The US felt that if they kill Ayatollah Khamenei the people of Iran will come out on the roads and do a regime change.' 'On the contrary, the US bombings on Iran has united the entire nation.'
16 days into the war, US forces were already running out of ground-attack missiles and Israel is about to expend its entire Arrow interceptor missiles by end March. To be sure, the Iranians are watching closely and that explains their defiant stance that 'Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its conditions are met', notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
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.
'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.'
The United States military killed a senior Al Qaeda-affiliated leader with direct links to the Islamic State ambush that targeted American soldiers in Syria in December in a strike carried out in the country's northwest region.
'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.'
'Mojtaba Khamenei supervised the most recent repression in December 2025 and January 2026 which remains ongoing.'
Trump claims the United States is performing exceptionally well in its ongoing conflict with Iran, citing weakened Iranian military capabilities and a strong US position.
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.
In the Indo-Pacific's new era -- where perception shapes reality faster than treaties -- the real entrapment is not of China or the United States. It is the test Japan has set for itself -- and whether partners like India, acting as balancers rather than accelerants, can help ensure that the story ends in stability, points out Varun Arya.
'Much will depend on the position of the United States.' 'It will have to be seen to what extent the US will be more interested in achieving some form of a deal and to what extent Israel will be allowed to continue to carry out both airstrikes and the killing of Iranian officials.'
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.
United States Central Command (CENTCOM) forces, along with partner forces, conducted large-scale strikes against multiple ISIS targets across Syria as a part of Operation Hawkeye Strike.
'To suddenly give the impression of taking a position that is hostile to Iran, or, at least, not friendly to Iran, is not a good thing.'
'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.
The United States, which entered this war in expectation of a short, sharp win along the Venezuela model, is now preparing for deeper involvement in a conflict it does not fully control, without the allies it typically relies on, against an adversary that is not behaving as expected, in a global environment that is already absorbing economic shock. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The Chinese military on Monday started new major drills in the 'middle areas' of the Taiwan Strait amid rising diplomatic tensions with Japan over Taiwan that Beijing claims as its territory.
'The unexpected turn of events and assertion of sovereignty by the Taliban has baffled the Pakistan security establishment.'
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
Once the might of the Indian establishment turned completely against the Maoists, there was no way they could survive -- either in Gadchiroli or anywhere else, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
Today's situation in the Shaksgam Valley is the consequence of what happened in Gilgit in 1947. But is India ready to militarily get back its territories? asks Claude Arpi.
The recently signed Gaza Peace Agreement is a 'landmark' step towards stability in the Middle East, India has said, reiterating that a two-state solution remains 'the only pragmatic path' to achieving durable peace between Israel and Palestine.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan says the Indian Air Force would have slowed the Chinese offensive considerably during the 1962 War.
'Political protection allow groups to recruit, rearm and operate with reduced operational pressure. That increases their bargaining power and their ability to destabilise.'
This is part of the reason the US advised some Americans to leave the region earlier Wednesday, with the State Department ordering non-emergency government officials to exit Iraq due to 'heightened regional tensions', CBS News reported.
'You cannot 'clear' your way to peace.' 'You need intelligence, calibrated force, impartial law enforcement, political neutrality, humanitarian returns and a sustained reconciliation plan.'
'Within 30 minutes of when Asim Munir made those comments, he should have been taken to Tampa airport and flown out of the United States.'
Nepal's claim on Lipulekh and Kalapani reopens a 200-year-old border dispute, while historical maps and treaties show the area belongs to India, asserts Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung (retd).
'Pakistan has found itself in a favourable position after Operation Sindoor by appreciating the mediation as claimed by Trump and recommending him for the Nobel Peace Prize.'
Before migrating into the theatre command concept, it would be worthwhile to study the shortfalls experienced by the Tri Services Command in the Andaman and Nicobar islands and make good the deficiencies, suggests Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'Indian refiners can operate without Russian crude from a technical standpoint, but the shift would involve major economic and strategic trade-offs'
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.
India and the US on Wednesday marked their maiden space collaboration with the successful flight of a GSLV rocket that placed an earth observation satellite, jointly developed by the two space agencies, in a precise orbit.
United States President Donald Trump will host Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House on Wednesday.
He then went on to say that, however, he won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for any of his efforts.
In a composed and clear presentation, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi announced that nine terrorist facilities had been destroyed in the tri-services operation.
>The Indian Army still uses old British-era names and recruits soldiers based on caste or region, which hurts national unity, argues Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
