Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has affirmed that the United States and his administration have achieved nearly total dominance over Iranian airspace following a series of coordinated military strikes.
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 IRGC said the barrage targeted several US military facilities in the region, including bases at Sheikh Isa in Bahrain, Juffair in Bahrain, Ali al-Salem in Kuwait and Al Azraq in Jordan.
The urgency for a resolution is underscored by the military situation, as joint operations by Israel and the US have consistently been "targeting Iran's missile systems, launch sites and other critical infrastructure" since the onset of the conflict.
A French sailor's use of a fitness app has exposed the location of France's aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, raising serious security concerns amid rising tensions in the West Asia region, a report from a French newspaper said.
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.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
The Israeli military said the strike dismantled the bunker during ongoing operations against Iranian military infrastructure.
'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.
We cannot simply have a 60-65 per cent import dependency in LPG, the bulk of which comes from just one volatile region -- West Asia, points out R Jagannathan.
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.
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 purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
Earlier, another state media outlet showed a display of part of the IRGC's drone arsenal inside a large tunnel. Coinciding with the release of these visuals, the IRGC confirmed the launch of the 48th phase of its retaliatory campaign.
This weekend, Donald Trump has begun to say the quiet part out loud -- that he wants to take control of Iran's oil, a formulation more in line with his robber-baron style of international relations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts that the joint US-Israel campaign against Iran is progressing successfully, highlighting Israel's strengthened position and hinting at new regional alliances.
'The White House lunch that Trump hosted for Munir last year came just after Munir returned from a visit to Iran, at a moment when Israel and Iran were at war.' 'Trump said after that lunch that the Pakistanis know Iran very well. He likely views Munir as a useful interlocutor that can give helpful insights on Iran.'
The US Embassy acknowledged the attack in a post on X, urging Americans to avoid the facility 'until further notice' and announcing that all appointments had been cancelled.
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.
United States President Donald Trump on Friday declared that there would be 'no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender' amid the escalating West Asia conflict, asserting that Tehran must capitulate before any diplomatic negotiations can proceed.
He also criticised the possible succession of the son of the late supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is widely viewed as a leading contender for the position.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the country believes that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solutions to resolving disputes and that the continued escalation of the conflict serves no one's interests.
US President Donald Trump stated that the decision regarding the conclusion of the conflict with Iran will be a 'mutual' decision made in coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
'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.
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.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
'Mojtaba Khamenei supervised the most recent repression in December 2025 and January 2026 which remains ongoing.'
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.
'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.'
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
When everyone has footage and no one can verify it, the loudest voice wins, notes Prem Panicker who begins a daily blog on the War in the Middle East.
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 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.
Emergency personnel work at houses damaged following a rocket attack from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in Kiryat Bialik, Israel.
According to the authorities, tragedy struck near the border town of Metula on Thursday morning when a rocket fired from Lebanon slammed into an apple orchard, claiming the lives of five people.
Top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Mohammed Kobeissi was killed in the Israeli strike on Beirut on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
According to the IDF, Eid Hassan Nashar held key leadership roles within Hezbollah. He served as the commander of the surface-to-surface rocket unit, overseeing the organisation's day-to-day operations.
In a significant blow to Hezbollah, Israel announced the elimination of Jaafar Khader Faour, commander of the Nasser Unit's Missiles and Rockets Array, in southern Lebanon's Jouaiyya area.
Halevi's remarks came after Hezbollah fired a missile at central Israel on early Wednesday and Israel responded with airstrikes, which have killed 569 people and wounded 1,835 others, Al Jazeera reported.
Hezbollah appointed Shiite cleric Naim Qassem as its new leader on Tuesday, nearly a month after his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike dealing a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group, CNN reported.
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