Will rising tensions between US-Israel and Iran threaten crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, putting India's fuel prices, imports, and economic stability at risk?
'I suspect that Bangladesh being given permission stuck in India's official craw, and this story was an attempt to balance the scales by giving the impression that a similar waiver had been given to India as well.'
The delegations from the US and Iran head to Islamabad on Friday, carrying a ceasefire that is already fraying, a Strait that is technically open and practically closed, and a negotiating agenda that would challenge even parties actually negotiating in good faith, which these groups are not. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
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.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
Israel's ongoing airstrikes and Iran's retaliation raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.
Khamenei said the people had chosen who they wanted as president and that 'the Islamic establishment will never manipulate people's votes and commit treason'.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday assured Tehran of Moscow's support in de-escalating the Israel-Iran conflict hours after the United States strikes at Iranian nuclear sites at dawn on Sunday.
The United States has imposed sanctions on at least half a dozen Indian companies accused of trading in Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals as part of broader action targeting 20 entities worldwide.
Weeks before the disputed Iranian presidential polls, US President Barack Obama had sent a direct message to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seeking "dialogue and engagement" between the two estranged nations.
Zahra said that while the university officials visited the students and advised them to remain calm, they did not offer clarity on which areas might be safer.
Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters and is also the commander in chief of the armed forces, instructed military commanders from the Revolutionary Guards and the army to prepare plans for both an attack and a defence in case the war expands and Israel or the US strike Iran, the officials said.
The IDF said that all of its bases, including air bases, are operating as usual with no harm to their functionality.
Trump has a major decision to take in coming days -- specifically, how to rescue Israel from the attritional war that lies ahead, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The stage may be set for a recalibrated US-Iran relationship, suggests Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Nine people were on the helicopter that crashed in northwest Iran on Sunday, including three officials, an imam, and flight and security team members, as reported by Tasnim news.
US President Barack Obama has secretly written a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to seek his support in the fight against the Islamic State militants.
Israel's aerial assault on Iran is widely viewed as an act of naked aggression with no basis in international law, carried out unilaterally despite US opposition and aimed at derailing ongoing US-Iran nuclear negotiations, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Will Russia's entry deter Trump on his warpath?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The statement by IRGC which was televised on the country's state media, came, three days after Haniyeh was killed at his accommodation in northern Tehran following his attendance at the inaugural ceremony of Iran's new president Masoud Pezeshkian.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The IRGC said that Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed after their residence was targeted in Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday night in Qatar and agreed to cooperate for 'fully achieving' the goals of Hamas and the Palestinian people the Jerusalem Post reported.
Both want parents to have more children.
Khamenei captioned the post as 'Victory from God and a near conquest...' In another post, he said, 'The strikes of the resistance front on the worn-out and decaying body of the Zionist regime will be more striking.'
Khamenei said: "We do not violate the deal, but if the other party violates it, if they tear the agreement up, we will light it on fire."
'INDIA will easily cross 50 seats out of 90 in Jammu and Kashmir.'
State television quoted Khamenei directing the Guardian Council to look into charges by Ahmadinejad's rival and pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left Iran for home on Friday after concluding a four-day visit to Iran during which he attended the 16th NAM Summit and held crucial bilateral meetings, including with Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari.
"The Israeli and American intelligence agencies no doubt stand behind the bloody and bitter events that took place in holy Karbala and sacred Najaf," said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has promised India all cooperation in finding out who was behind the February 13 bombing targeting an Israeli diplomat's wife. The Iranians insisted there would be no problem in assisting the Indian government locate the individuals associated with the crime.
Highly tilted trade relations in favour of Iran, supply of oil and gas and other key strategic bilateral and international issues, including Syria, are expected to dominate the meetings of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.
A host of meeting with the leaders of other NAM countries, including Pakistan, is also likely to take place on the sidelines of the 16th Summit of 120-nation grouping, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said while briefing reporters in New Delhi on Prime Minister's four-day Iran visit.
The two-day meet of the 120-nation grouping, which began with the national anthem of Iran followed by the recitation of the verses from the holy Quran, was inaugurated by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the leaders' Summit hall in Northern Tehran.
The United States military forces on Thursday (US local time) conducted self-defence strikes on two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups.
The Supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has urged the Islamic Ummah to sympathise and provide assistance to Kashmir, and called the United States an arrogant, 'self-styled commandant of the Islamic region and the real sponsor of the Zionist regime'.
Iran is poised to produce its first nuclear warhead and will be able to do so within a year of an order from its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a media report said on Monday. Quoting Western intelligence sources, The Times daily claimed that Iran has perfected the technology to create and detonate a nuclear warhead and is merely awaiting the green signal from its Supreme Leader.
The crises of the 21st century, 9/11, the economic meltdown, COVID-19, Russia-Iran war and the Hamas-Israel war seem to be never ending. In this situation, Iran might be contemplating a nuclear deterrent to defend itself, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the distinguished long-time Rediff contributor who turns 80 on June 17..
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