If Iran and Oman choose to charge a fee for rendering services to vessels using their territorial waters, so be it. The US is indulging in an irrationally self-destructive act, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
We, Indians, forgot that for Pakistan, Kashmir dispute and blood feud with India is the raison detre for its existence. It is also the excuse with which the Pak army keeps its grip over the state. Peace in Kashmir and between India and Pakistan is against the interests of the Pak army, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
'Pakistan does not have the capacity to fight a war with us. They do not want to fight a war. It does mischief as per its policy of 'bleed India through a thousand cuts'
Doubts are emerging about Pakistan's role in mediating peace negotiations between the US and Iran, with suggestions that Islamabad's efforts are stalling and failing to secure a definitive response from the United States.
If Trump wants peace with Iran, Pakistan will offer to help. If Trump seeks Pakistan's aid to spy on Iran, then too Munir will not hesitate to chip in. At the same time, the ISI will not hesitate to tip off Iran now and then, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
A new western disturbance brought thunderstorms and rain to parts of northern India, with hailstorms and snow reported in several regions. The weather caused flooding in Jammu and Kashmir and prompted a yellow alert in Delhi.
'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.'
Romance and action rule the roost on this week's OTT special. Take your pick from Sukanya Verma's eclectic menu.
The Indian Army is equipping its infantry battalions with drone platoons and raising elite commando units as part of a modernization drive to enhance combat capabilities along the northern and western frontiers. The Army is also procuring new carbines and upgrading its arsenal with advanced weaponry.
The clock on the ceasefire is running out. But everyone's already whispering about round two, possibly as soon as this weekend.
The Americans can occupy Bab el Mandeb, claim to have 'solved' the Strait of Hormuz crisis, declare victory that President Trump so desperately needs, points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
'Nehru was an idealist, he was certainly a visionary in one way, but Mao Zedong was not. Mao Zedong was a very down-to-earth strategist. He wanted to take Tibet, to take the plateau, to take the rivers, to take the minerals.'
The Indian Embassy in Mexico has issued an advisory to Indian nationals, urging caution and advising them to stay indoors due to escalating violence following the death of a drug cartel leader.
'In such a scenario, Iran could proclaim itself victor, rebuild, re-enforce its diminished regional proxies to further destabilise neighbouring nations and take control of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.'
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
Although extensive air attacks have been carried out to destroy most of Iran's defence capabilities, the latter's resilience and sustenance during the war clearly indicate that the US landing force would encounter severe resistance in the operation, explains Commodore Venugopal Vengalil (retd).
Israel wishes to continue its bombing campaign until Iran's military and industrial infrastructure are degraded to a point where it ceases to pose a threat to Israel. Iran, for its part, has learnt from its experience in the 12-day war of last June. Any ceasefire, it believes, will only be a prelude to another attack on itself. It is determined to convey that any attack on Iran will impose heavy costs on Israel, the US, America's allies in the Gulf -- and on the world at large, points out T T Ram Mohan.
Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi has given full authority to the Army commanders for counter-action in the kinetic domain to any violation of the understanding reached between the Indian and Pakistani militaries.
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
The Indian Army's broader reorganisation is inevitable as India's military doctrine adapts to the demands of the modern battlefield.
The army chief reviewed the joint operations carried out by the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Border Security Force in response to Pakistani drone and military attacks that followed India's retaliatory strike on May 7 for the horrific Pahalgam terror attack.
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
'I want to show bearded men actually caring and loving for their sons or a woman from Pakistan in a position of power. How radical is that?'
If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
Mexico is facing widespread violence and travel advisories after the death of drug lord 'El Mencho,' the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, during a military operation.
The Indian Army will bear the study expenses of a ten-year-old boy, Shvan Singh, who supplied meals to soldiers during Operation Sindoor. The army's Golden Arrow Division has committed to fully sponsor Shvan's education in recognition of his courage and enthusiasm.
The central government has empowered the Army Chief to call out 'every officer and every enrolled person' of the Territorial Army (TA) to provide for essential guard or to be embodied to support or supplement the regular Army.
Early morning rain in Delhi lowers temperatures. The weather office predicts cloudy conditions and thunderstorms for the day due to a western disturbance.
'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.'
The Army unit deployed in Ashti successfully evacuated 40 people with the help of an NDRF team and other agencies.
The unrest erupted on Monday night after a Bodo man allegedly knocked down a Santhal Adivasi youth with his car. The Bodo individual was later killed by a mob.
Because it treats soldiers as human, and concentrates on their emotions as much as their bravery, Border 2, probably without meaning to, speaks out against war, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Top Indian military commanders highlight the success of Exercise Trishul in enhancing jointness and interoperability among the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The exercise, culminating in Amphex 2025, involved 30,000 troops, multiple aircraft, and naval vessels, including INS Vikrant.
'The tools of warfare are changing. The MoD must deepen its engagement with technology thinkers that can present compelling visions of where warfare may be heading.'
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.
The fierce battles of Galwan, Rezang La, Gurung Hill, and Walong taught the PLA a hard lesson: Fighting the Indian Army would never be easy or inexpensive.
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 new supplies of the Igla-S air defence missiles have been received by the Indian Army a couple of weeks ago and are being provided to the forward formations for taking care of the threat from enemy fighter aircraft, choppers and drones on the borders.
The visiting personnel will also ascertain difficulties, if any, being faced by the "families of our war heroes", he said.
