The United States Soccer Federation temporarily displayed Iran's national flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic as a show of solidarity with protesters in Iran ahead of the two teams' World Cup clash on Tuesday.
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.
Describing the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah as the deadliest in decades, Biden said lasting security for the people of the two countries cannot be achieved only on the battlefield.
The head of Syria's main opposition group abroad Hadi al-Bahra Syrian said that Damascus is now "without Bashar al-Assad" according to Reuters.
The 'mediation' by the United States from behind the scene on the diplomatic track appears to be once again working, which calls on both Delhi and Islamabad to show restraint and pull back from a military confrontation, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The United States stormed into the World Cup last 16 on Tuesday by beating Iran 1-0 at a cacophonous Al Thumama Stadium after Christian Pulisic bundled the ball home in a Group B showdown shrouded by decades of enmity between the two nations.
'I am worried that Pakistan will still feel compelled to take substantive military action beyond this apparent drone activity.' 'If so, the crisis could persist for a while more and dangerous days are still ahead.'
'Israel would make Iran and its proxies pay. They, along with Qatar, fund terror all over the world.'
A day after killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike in Beirut, Israel conducted widespread strikes in Lebanon on Sunday, killing over 100 people. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) also launched airstrikes on military targets in Yemen, specifically targeting Houthi-controlled sites, including power plants and a seaport.
... and there is no stopping its pan-Islamic agenda, cautions Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Iran's president Hassan Rouhani offered his apologies and condolences.
'Israel is counting on the United States to enter the fray on their behalf and perform destructive strikes against these targets that are beyond Israel's conventional capabilities.' 'They may well get their way if they start a war, because the United States is still committed to Israel's security, and it won't matter whether it is Trump or Harris in the White House.'
In days of smart, networked technology and no shame over collateral damage, what will blow up next -- cars, mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators? And where?, asks Shyam G Menon.
Carter was in politics, but not a politician, certainly not a transactional politician, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
The oil industry experienced three upheavals between 1973 and 1991, which seem to be etched in the memory of the industry's decision makers. Naturally, at the sign of a new crisis, the decision makers like to dip into those tumultuous decades to find ways to deal with the new shock, in addition, of course, to expert reports and forecasts. So, the industry bigwigs turned the pages of history to get a peek into the future of oil price movements after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Israel attacked Gaza in 2023, Iran-linked Houthi rebels pounded tankers crossing the Red Sea in support of Palestine the same year, and Iran rained missiles on Israel in 2024.
State-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), which operates India's strategic crude oil storage, will make awards by December to lease around 1 million tons of crude oil storage space (7.3 million barrels) at two of the country's three existing Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs), around a fifth of the total SPR capacity. This will enable the refilling of crude caverns even as escalating hostilities in the Gulf threaten disruptions in crude supplies, two industry sources said.
'He is convinced that this will help him in the next election.' 'But as we know, the best laid plans of mice and men can go awry.'
Closely watched by the world for any escalation, the Iran-Israel conflict is already showing early signs of stress for India Inc - longer deliveries, doubling freight rates, extended working capital cycles, and higher costs. For those yet to feel the heat, there is growing apprehension and nervousness over future developments, observed industry executives.
It is the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
In a late-night tweet in capital letters, he said Iran must 'never, ever threaten the United States again'.
The onus today is on China, but it also requires a little diplomatic finesse from India, backed by a modernised armed force, argues BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in this excerpt from his new book, Himalayan Challenge: India, China And The Quest For Peace.
'While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the US government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive US limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted,' a Foreign Ministry statement said.
Iranian Ambassador to India Ali Chegeni said his country is 'not for war'. "We are looking for peace and prosperity for everybody in this region," he said.
The United States has condemned the death sentence handed to American-Iranian ex-Marine Amir Mirzai Hekmati in Iran and asked Tehran to release him immediately.
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 current instability in the world is a result of long term systemic and socio-politico problems, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The reports quoting unnamed senior administration officials came amid an increasing demand in this regard from US Senators even as the Trump administration called a meeting of the UN Security Council on Iran's ballistic missile tests.
Saudi Arabia has severed diplomatic ties with Iran following attacks on the kingdom's embassy and consulate in the Islamic Republic over the execution of a Shiite cleric.
General Soleimani headed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Quds Force and also served as Iran's pointman on Iraq.
'None of these three countries -- Turkey, Iran or Malaysia -- ever made a hostile move against India to support the Pakistan-based terrorist elements,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The White House called upon Iranian authorities to immediately release US-Iranian ex-Marine Amir Mirzai Hekmati, who was "sentenced to death for cooperating with a hostile nation, membership of the CIA and trying to implicate Iran in terrorism."
India's solidarity with the Palestinian cause dates back to Mahatma Gandhi's time and its rising global stature and influence over all key players in West Asia make it well-placed to play a crucial role in defusing the crisis arising out of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Palestine Ambassador Adnan Abu Alhaija said on Tuesday.
The trilateral alliance between India, Afghanistan and Iran on the strategic Chabahar port is a security threat to Pakistan, defence experts in Islamabad have said and asked the government to use diplomatic manoeuvres to avert falling into an "abyss of isolation".
Irrespective of all the criticism that he is facing in America, Ahmadinejad's meeting with Dr Singh looks almost certain, sources have revealed.
India's voting pattern in the United Nations with regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict is lately marked by a calibrated distancing from Israel, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
National security advisor Ajit Doval on Friday suggested that various central armed police forces of the country should have "jointness" and interoperability among themselves like the ongoing plan for the defence forces.
On Monday night Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference in English for the foreign media in which he said that Israel's war in Gaza is a fight for civilisation and against barbarism.
If military power is all it would take to finish the menace of an awful terrorist organisation like Hamas, how come five Israeli wars in Gaza since 2003 have failed to do so? asks Shekhar Gupta.
'It is only because we were facing US threats that we were able to successfully develop a nuclear programme of our own.'
In a move that may thaw the 34-year-old icy relationship between the United States and Iran, US President Barack Obama on Friday called his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and "exchanged pleasantries" in a 15-minute conversation.
