United States President Donald Trump on Friday issued a stern warning to Hamas, saying the militant group is "militarily trapped" and has been given a last chance to agree to a peace deal endorsed by regional and global powers.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are actively pushing Trump to take the war to its bitter finish and 'erase' Iran's presence in the geopolitics of the region. Simply put, the two most powerful Sunni Arab oligarchies are on the same page as Israel. Such interference increases the risk of a breakdown in dialogue between the US and Iran, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
If Trump wants peace with Iran, Pakistan will offer to help. If Trump seeks Pakistan's aid to spy on Iran, then too Munir will not hesitate to chip in. At the same time, the ISI will not hesitate to tip off Iran now and then, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
Gold prices surged in futures trading due to escalating US-Iran tensions, driving demand for the safe-haven asset.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over US President Donald Trump's warning to Iran and appealed for the re-establishment of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has made similar claims many times since May 10 last year, stating that it was his pressure that led to peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbours as he makes his pitch for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Iran was the chance to arrange a concert of nations, to actually be a Vishwaguru. Instead, we are watching from the sidelines as Pakistan, the same country that is apparently still at war with Afghanistan, hosts talks between US-Israel and Iran. The irony is hard to miss, points out Amberish K Diwanji.
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.
Following US and Israeli strikes in Iran, reports have surfaced questioning the wellbeing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, prompting a swift denial from Iranian officials and condemnation of the military action.
After the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire and expressed hope for lasting peace, Pakistan took much of the credit for playing mediator between the two countries. However, Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies and former US Treasury counterterrorism analyst, said Pakistan is deeply indebted to China.
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.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's anti-tobacco crusade has a new target: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Politico reported.
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.
The IRGC said the strikes were conducted in support of offensives by Hezbollah and residents of southern Lebanon, and described them as the beginning of a series of pre-announced operations against Israel.
One of the most uncivilised characteristics of this war has been the total disregard for international law and the laws of armed conflict, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
For India, much is at stake: Crucial energy supplies traversing the Strait of Hormuz, the fate of its 10 million citizens living and working in West Asia -- who send generous remittances home -- and its major trade links with the region.
To be sure, Trump is furious, as the trajectory of the war is in a state of Zugzwang, as chess players call it. Trump and Netanyahu stare at two choices -- retreat in humiliation and concede Tehran's demands -- recognition of its rights, reparations, and binding security guarantees -- or perish in a quagmire, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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 Manipur government has handed over the investigation into a bomb attack in Bishnupur district, which resulted in the deaths of two children, to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The decision follows protests and unrest in the region.
Historically, India was a major buyer of Iranian crude, importing significant volumes of Iranian light and heavy grades due to strong refinery compatibility and favourable commercial terms.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Rajya Sabha, detailing India's strategies to navigate the global energy crisis sparked by the West Asia conflict, including securing diverse energy sources and expanding strategic oil reserves.
'We are targeting a 2.5x to 3x increase in valuation by FY31.'
'TTP has vowed to take revenge for the attacks that Pakistan is carrying out against Afghanistan.' 'To diminish this threat, Pakistan is hitting Afghanistan hard.'
The US blockade on Iranian ports is aimed to curb Iranian energy exports, thereby crippling its economy to force Iran back to the negotiating table, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Nobody takes Pakistan seriously and therefore Pakistan's sudden mediating with almost immediate results of a ceasefire seems more contrived than real, points out Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
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.
'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.'
Karex, the Malaysian company that makes roughly one in five of the world's condoms -- about five billion a year, supplying Durex and Trojan among others -- announced this week that it is raising prices by up to 30 percent. The reason is the Strait of Hormuz.
The Sri Lanka Navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from a sinking naval ship off the southern coast, while also recovering several bodies. The incident occurred outside Sri Lankan waters but within its search and rescue zone.
At least 101 people are missing and 78 are injured after a suspected submarine attack on an Iranian naval ship off Sri Lanka's southern coast on Wednesday, Reuters quoted sources in Sri Lanka's Navy and defence ministry as saying.
Two people were killed and five others injured after a mob stormed a CRPF camp in Manipur's Bishnupur district following a protest against a bomb attack that killed two children.
Violence erupted in Manipur's Bishnupur district following a bomb attack that killed two children and subsequent protest deaths at a CRPF camp. The incident has sparked widespread outrage and prompted a government investigation.
Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed advocates for building democratic institutions over military intervention in resolving international conflicts, particularly in the context of the escalating West Asia crisis. He also discusses the impact of the conflict on the Maldives' tourism-dependent economy and calls for a stronger, more understanding India in the Indian Ocean Region.
India's handling of the Iran crisis reflects a growing strain between strategic autonomy and geopolitical alignment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
United States President Donald Trump on Monday praised India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi without naming him, saying 'India is a great country with a good friend of mine at the top'.
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.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in a US-Israeli attack, sparking celebrations in Iran and raising questions about the future of the regime.
Every UN secretary-general has flagged the financial situation, but Antonio Guterres has issued the direst warning yet, calling it a 'race to bankruptcy and of imminent financial collapse, points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
