US President Donald Trump stated that Iran is eager to make a deal and predicted a sharp decline in oil prices due to abundant supply, amidst a Senate resolution to limit his war powers in Iran.
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.
Pakistan on Saturday brought in a Constitutional amendment to create a new post of chief of defence forces to ensure greater coordination and unified command among the three services.
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.
US Senator John McCain met Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah immediately after his arrival in Srinagar on a two day visit.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrives to visit the United States Indo-Pacific Command headquarters and the Pacific Fleet in Hawaii.
...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.
The BJP on Saturday accused the Congress of repeatedly supplying "oxygen" to Pakistan, and slammed the opposition party for its leader Charanjit Singh Channi's remarks questioning the veracity of Balakot air strikes after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the Congress is full of pro-Pakistan leaders who make statements against India's interests, and mocked the party for its letter that had advised its functionaries to toe the official line on the issue. Patra also criticized other Congress leaders for their comments on the Pulwama and Pahalgam terror attacks, accusing them of lowering the morale of the armed forces. He further slammed the Congress for claiming credit for the government's announcement of the caste census and said the party never carried out the exercise during its over 60-year stint in power.
Creating a powerful new chief of defence forces has split the Pakistan military into four competing factions, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
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.
A United States lawmaker, who was given the rare opportunity by the Central Intelligence Agency to view the death photos of Osama bin Laden, has said the pictures were "pretty gruesome" and there was no doubt that the Al Qaeda chief was dead.
United States President Donald Trump will host Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House on Wednesday.
Military officials released new video on Monday of a close encounter between a Russian fighter jet and a US Air Force F-16 interceptor near Alaska, Associated Press has reported.
'If the Trump administration could gain access to the nuclear weapons, they would be satisfied -- at least they could control them.'
The closed-door luncheon meeting came amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran with Trump exploring Washington's possible involvement.
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
United States President Barack Obama faced stiff resistance from the opposition Republican senators and skepticism from his own Democrats, forcing the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to postpone the vote on military intervention in Syria.
The Syria war resolution drafted by members of the powerful US Senate Foreign Relations Committee permits up to 60 days of military action against the Bashar al-Assad regime and does not permit any boots on the ground, Congressional aides said.
The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
In response to a question about whether US citizens should be concerned about a nuclear war breaking out, Biden said "no."
"Selling military hardware to Pakistan -- with a generous subsidy from American taxpayers -- is no way to convince them to become responsible players in the international community and assist in the fight against terrorism," Rand Paul said.
Terrorist safe havens inside Pakistan, providing shelter to terrorist outfits like the Taliban and the Haqqani network, is a serious problem, a top US general nominated to be the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said.
Carter was in politics, but not a politician, certainly not a transactional politician, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
Noting that the military action by the coalition forces has significantly degraded the ability of the Libyan regime to defend itself, United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said the people themselves would throw Muammar Gaddafi out of power.
The United States has announced to reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 each by January 15 next year, which drew sharp reaction from influential lawmakers across the aisle.
'The Senators were playing safe, not angering either the pro-India lobby or the pro-Pakistan lobby, but perhaps more importantly, the military-industrial complex -- the most powerful lobby of all -- which the majority of Senators are beholden to in terms of largesse to their campaign coffers.'
The deadly American air strike on a hospital in northern Afghan city of Kunduz that killed 22 people, including women and children, was a mistake, a top US commander in Afghanistan on Tuesday said as he conceded that they were taken by surprise by the recent Taliban upsurge.
In its annual threat assessment presented before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing on Tuesday, the US intelligence community said the expanded military posture by both India and China along the disputed border elevates the risk of armed confrontation between the two nuclear powers that might involve direct threats to US persons and interests and calls for America's intervention.
The Iraqi forces defeated by IS fighters in their takeover of Ramadi were not outnumbered and in fact showed "no will to fight.
It said that the transit was "ongoing" and that there had been "no interference from foreign military forces so far."
Pakistan has briefed the United States on the progress it made during military operations against terrorists in North Waziristan costing $1.3 billion (Rs 8080 crore) and sought America's help in defraying part of it.
Regional States will be worried that the US's nascent engagement with the Taliban behind the fig leaf of humanitarian aid enables the return of US intelligence personnel to Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Dr Kissinger, then US president Richard M Nixon's national security adviser, feigned illness on a visit to Pakistan in July 1971 and made a secret trip to Peking, as Beijing was then called, to begin the process of a rapprochement between America and China. It was a debt that Chinese leaders have never forgotten.
Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said that the Pakistani forces are fully prepared to give a befitting reply to any 'misadventure' from India.
In a major development, US House of Representatives has voted to train and arm Syrian rebels so that they can take on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a designated foreign terrorist organisation.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday asked friendly countries to provide state-of-the-art military equipment needed for Pakistan's campaign against militants.
The US, in coordination with allies and partners, continued to forcefully respond to Russia's "unjustified, unprovoked and premeditated" invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Putin and Lavrov.
Disappointed over the Egyptian military's deadly crackdown on protesters, the United States has temporarily frozen some of its military aid to Egypt, including deliveries of tanks, F-16 aircraft and missiles as well as $260 million in cash.
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Taliban failed to honour Doha accord, never renounced Al-Qaeda: US general Mark Milley
