While euphoria over the Iran deal has waned sharply, the current account deficit has gone into remission due to a collapse in gold demand.
As the world continues to rage under the ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the two presidential candidates in the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump during the presidential debate hosted by ABC News on Tuesday (local time), presented their views on ending the conflict and Washington, DC's role in it.
About 2,000 Indians are living in Iran, a country that has witnessed increasing numbers of coronavirus cases in the last few days. According to latest reports, 237 people have died of the coronavirus infection in Iran while the number of positive cases stands at around 7,000.
Decapitated ghosts, ancient ghosts, devil judges, devious cartoons, angry young women, it's a super flavourful platter of assorted goodies on the OTT menu this week.
Besides other issues, lack of pact between India and Pakistan on the price of the gas led to the delay in the project.
Whatever be India's course of action, it will have an impact on India-Iran ties, notes Aveek Sen.
The possibility of a deal between Iran and the world on its nuclear programme has some perils but much promise for India, says Uday Abhyankar
On Tuesday night, Iran launched over a dozen ballistic missiles targeting at least two bases where US military and coalition forces' are stationed in Iraq to 'avenge the killing' of General Qasem Soleimani.
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."
"The 'red bag' belonged to one of the hijackers, it contained explosives, and possibly, real passports, too.
Iran signed a $3 billion deal with Boeing, backed Qatar against the Saudis, scored a big victory in Syria and reached out to Hamas. Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar examines how the Qatar versus Saudi Arabia standoff is quickly changing alignments in the Middle East.
Trump said the sanction will deny the Iranian Supreme leader access to financial instruments.
General Soleimani headed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Quds Force and also served as Iran's pointman on Iraq.
The current instability in the world is a result of long term systemic and socio-politico problems, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The talks could be a last-ditch diplomatic effort to avert a military strike on Iranian nuclear installations and could also help President Barack Obama make the case that he is nearing a breakthrough in the decade-long effort by the world's major powers to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Her remarks assume significance as they come after the US told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to "zero" by November 4 or face sanctions, making it clear that there would be no waivers to anyone.
'Tehran,' Foreign Minister Zarif said, 'had expected the Modi government to be "more resilient" in the face of Washington's bullying,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A step away from nuclear weapons being used in conflicts, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
A host of issues like the civil nuclear cooperation, Iran and Afghanistan figured in talks between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian envoy Nirupama Rao, with both agreeing to work for consolidating the "tremendous progress" made in boosting Indo-US strategic ties.
President Xi Jinping on Monday vowed to build China's military into a "Great Wall of steel" to protect its sovereignty and developmental interests as he sought a bigger role for Beijing in global affairs, days after brokering a Saudi Arabia-Iran detente, regarded as a diplomatic coup.
To the extent the nuclear race in West Asia is slowed down by the Iran nuclear deal, the world as a whole has reason to be happy, says Virendra Kapoor.
India on Monday lost the ONGC Videsh Ltd-discovered Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf after Iran awarded a contract for developing the giant gas field to a local company. "The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has signed a contract worth $1.78 billion with Petropars Group for the development of Farzad B Gas Field in the Persian Gulf," the Iranian oil ministry's official news service Shana reported. "The deal was signed on Monday, May 17, in a ceremony held in the presence of Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh in Tehran." The field holds 23 trillion cubic feet of in-place gas reserves, of which about 60 per cent is recoverable.
President Trump, in a move that could have implications on India's energy security, on Monday decided not to grant sanctions exemptions to any oil customers of Iran, further squeezing Tehran's top export commodity.
Oil experts from Iran and Pakistan will meet in Teheran on Tuesday to add finishing touches to the $7-billion gas pipeline project linking the two countries as well as India, which is not attending the talks, a media report said.
Speculation is rife that Xi is likely to make an attempt to initiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The United States on Thursday put Iran "on notice" for test-firing a ballistic missile and warned of consequences for its "malign actions", signalling a more hardline stance against Tehran that could set the stage for renewed confrontation between the two nations.
Lingering tension and looming war clouds within the region pose grave threats to India's interests. It is therefore imperative for India to try and mediate between the US and Iran, says Alok Bansal.
US President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday said Iran's development of nuclear weapons was "unacceptable" and sought a concerted effort by the international community to address the controversial issue.
Iran is India's largest importer of tea in value terms while in terms of volume, it is the second largest after Russia
"10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone".
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that countries like India, if it gets the exemption, would be asked to bring down their oil imports from Iran to zero in six months' time.
To buy 200,000 tonnes by December but long-term deal prospects stuck on quality concerns; govt to consult labs
The incident remains a reminder of the inherent fragilities of all geopolitical relationships.
India may ink an agreement with Iran in June this year on the import of natural gas through a $4.5 billion pipeline transiting through Pakistan.
The US president said he would meet without any precondition.
The broader Nifty closed at 11,993.05, falling by 233.60 points, or 1.91 per cent. On the Sensex chart, Bajaj Finance was the top loser, dropping 4.63 per cent, followed by SBI, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and RIL
'Indian and Iranian sources both confirmed to me that India and Iran are moving ahead to implement a payment system on buying oil from Iran and hope to finalise it very soon,' says Aveek Sen.
'IT companies do not have a large presence there either in terms of market and team. So, the impact of the war will be minimal. But West Asia is an emerging economy.'
The Biden administration expects the Modi government to continue to remain as its loyal camp follower even as Washington continues to act in self-interests, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
