The Congress party has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic efforts following the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran, facilitated in part by Pakistan. The party claims this development undermines Modi's strategy and exposes his perceived failures in foreign policy.
The operation reportedly extended to American assets, with the IRGC claiming that "US military bases in the region, namely Ali al-Salem in Kuwait, as well as al-Minhad and al-Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates, were also targeted."
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced a series of military operations against US and Israeli targets in retaliation for earlier airstrikes. The IRGC claims to have launched multiple missile and drone strikes, and has warned against any potential ground operations within Iranian territory.
Iranian news agencies have denied reports of Iranian officials travelling to Pakistan for negotiations with the United States, even as Pakistan prepares for potential talks and faces criticism from Israel.
Trump has said he would be present at the signing ceremony in Islamabad. Don't be surprised if the Pakistani hosts make it a grand event in the geopolitics of the region. Trump would love that, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the King of Bahrain and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, condemning recent attacks on both countries and emphasising the importance of regional peace and stability.
The threat of wars hovers over the negotiations in Oman, but the good part is that Trump called the talks to be 'very good' and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian responded that they 'constitute a step forward', points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
By appearing to privilege ideological affinity over strategic balance, India risks eroding the trust painstakingly built across West Asia. Once the perception takes hold that India's friendship is conditional and transactional, rebuilding credibility will be difficult, warns Amberish K Diwanji.
The Congress party has criticised the Indian government's diplomatic strategy, claiming a 'severe setback' if reports of Pakistan mediating between the US-Israel and Iran are accurate. The party alleges Pakistan's diplomatic engagement has surpassed India's, despite military successes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel aims to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations, focusing on cooperation in various sectors including defense, technology, and trade.
The Iranian embassy also posted a video purportedly showing the aftermath of the strike, with plumes of smoke visible.
The West Asia conflict escalated sharply as Iran launched missiles towards Israel, while Tehran confirmed the killing of its intelligence minister in Israeli strikes, marking the third assassination of a senior Iranian official in two days.
As days turn into weeks and America loses more planes, as the destruction of trillions of dollars worth military assets piles up, and dead bodies of soldiers return in ever greater numbers in coffins, Trump will have to answer some very difficult questions to save his presidency, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India has joined over 100 countries and global organizations in condemning Israel's "unilateral" decisions and measures aimed at expanding its "unlawful presence" in the West Bank.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem and paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust, accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Chaffing under public ridicule in the US as well as internationally for having 'lost' the war, Trump is under immense pressure to do something, cautions Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'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.'
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a "full and immediate" ceasefire after a "long night" of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 70 times that he ended the conflict between India and Pakistan.
For years, these two powers operated as "frenemies" in the shadow of Iran's regional influence. The frame here is "The Enemy of My Enemy."
The question is whether the clocks allow enough time for two deeply mistrustful sides to get there, and whether the surface calm holds long enough for the paddling to produce something before the ceasefire ends on April 22, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the escalating situation in West Asia, emphasising the need for dialogue and diplomacy to restore peace and stability in the region.
With the Iran war escalating sharply and crisis deepening in the global energy market, India on Monday unveiled a coordinated plan to support exporters and shippers caught in the fallout.
It may now be time to question the price India is paying for Israel's disregard of the serious undermining of India's energy security, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump discussed the Middle East crisis, with a focus on the Strait of Hormuz.
India and Israel have elevated their relationship to a special strategic partnership, focusing on enhanced cooperation in trade, technology, and defense, while also addressing regional peace initiatives.
The Congress party has alleged that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein played a role in shaping the India-Israel relationship after 2014, citing email exchanges made public under the 'Epstein Files'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed deep concern over the escalating situation in West Asia, emphasising the need for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve disputes. India is closely monitoring developments to ensure the safety of its citizens in the region.
In a further escalation of the assault on the heavily fortified site, a missile strike also reportedly targeted the "helipad" at the embassy, as documented by Al Jazeera.
'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.'
The pause gives the US time to breathe, to regroup, to move its expeditionary force into position without risk of interception along the way. It gives Iran nothing -- on the ground, attacks against its infrastructure continue apace. Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Dimona and Ahad came under intense Iranian missile fire over the weekend as the conflict entered a far more volatile phase. These photographs capture the aftermath of the strikes -- thick smoke rising over the cities, emergency teams rushing to the scenes and residents caught in the chaos that followed.
'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.
President Herzog said that he will assign the task to form a new government to Netanyahu, 73, following consultations with leaders of all the political parties that have been elected to Parliament.
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.
'What we have yet to see on either the US or the Iranian side is willingness to compromise on their ultimate demands and the flexibility to reach an agreement to end the war.
'India's ties with Israel have to do with defence and general technology.' 'The war changes nothing in what India and Israel hope to get from the relationship.' 'It's not as though India will get significantly more benefits from Iran if India abandons Israel at this time.'
Alliances fight wars effectively only when they share an endgame. If Israel acted without US knowledge, then the military alliance is operating without real coordination at the level of strategic targeting. Neither picture is reassuring in a war that is no longer regional in its consequences. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
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.
'Our diplomacy should have been focused on preventing war and avoiding the inevitable disruptions it would cause, posing a real risk to India's growth story,' asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
