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.
The clock on the ceasefire is running out. But everyone's already whispering about round two, possibly as soon as this weekend.
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.
India has relocated the majority of its students from Tehran due to the escalating conflict in West Asia. The Indian embassy has arranged for their transportation, food, and accommodation outside of Tehran. An advisory remains in place for other Indian nationals in Iran to stay indoors and exercise caution.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is urging the Indian government to take a more proactive role in mediating the escalating conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran, emphasising the impact on India's energy security and regional stability.
Trump said that Iran's leadership, along with its air defence, Air Force, and Navy are 'gone'.
Baghaei also alleged that recent unrest in Iran was fuelled by foreign interference, claiming riots were triggered by "very evident" interventionist remarks by US and Israeli officials.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
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 intriguing bit is that Trump is likely to attend the talks in Islamabad this weekend -- if he does, it will be the clearest signal yet that the US is ready to exit the war with some sort of win to show, since he cannot afford to go for the talks and return empty-handed, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War
'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.
'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.
After the match, jubilant Iranians danced and cheered as they streamed out of the ground.
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.
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.
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.
India is evaluating its involvement in the Chabahar port project in Iran due to potential US tariffs. The US had granted India a waiver for the project, but it expires soon. India is exploring options to continue supporting the port's development while minimizing exposure to US sanctions.
Debutants, heat and distance shape mood ahead of 2026 World Cup draw
China's official media on Sunday criticised United States bomb attacks on Iranian nuclear sites as a further step toward the abyss, while experts in Beijing said the American bunker-buster bombs used in strikes may not be enough to destroy Iran's nuclear plants hidden deep underground.
'If the Trump administration could gain access to the nuclear weapons, they would be satisfied -- at least they could control them.'
Following attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, including Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) has stated that the attacks are a violation of international law and that Iran's nuclear industry will continue its development.
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.
Indian films, and Raj Kapoor in particular, have a special place in Iranian cinephilia or cinemadoosti, Ranjita Ganesan discovers on a visit to Iran.
'Are we to believe that coordinated moves by the Canadian and US authorities are no longer taking place?', asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The first World Cup in the Middle East has been anything but insulated from the troubles of the volatile region, set against a backdrop of anti-government protests in Iran and an upsurge in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Rouhani said people who think Islam is a religion of "violence and terrorism" are wrong in their assessment.
Mentioning the recent attacks on US forces in Syria and Iraq, he added, "The US sent messages to the Axis of Resistance but received a clear response on the battlefield."
Pro-Palestinian sympathies among fans have also spilt into stadiums as four Arab teams compete
'Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for having our film here. Please don't wait 30 years to have another Indian film.'
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.
'You know why? Because they know they can't vet them, and they don't want Hamas in their neighbourhood'
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.
Iran's win over Wales and the U.S. team's goalless stalemate against England set up a tantalising final round of Group B matches.
Iran's World Cup campaign was all but finished even before it started.
The President, in a tweet, said that the 52 sites include some 'very important to Iran and Iranian culture'. The tension between US and Iran has escalated since the killing of powerful General of pro-Iran militia in Iraq.
A Greek soccer match was delayed on Friday when players staged a sit-down protest in a moving tribute to migrants who have lost their lives trying to reach Greece's Aegean islands.
The pro-Iran militia did not say who was responsible but Iraqi state television reported it was a US air strike.
Gen Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike on Friday. Trump alleged that Soleimani has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilise the Middle East for the last 20 yrs.
General Soleimani headed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Quds Force and also served as Iran's pointman on Iraq.
