For India, China's Indian Ocean power projection, maritime domain awareness, dual-use ports, underwater surveillance, antisubmarinewarfare, naval exercises with Pakistan, pose considerable pressure, depleted India's strategic depth and marginalises Indian role, points out Srikanth Kondapalli.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has been actively involved in mediating between Saudi Arabia and Iran following the outbreak of war, ensuring the safety of Pakistani citizens in affected regions.
The delegations from the US and Iran head to Islamabad on Friday, carrying a ceasefire that is already fraying, a Strait that is technically open and practically closed, and a negotiating agenda that would challenge even parties actually negotiating in good faith, which these groups are not. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Amidst escalating tensions in West Asia, Iran claims to have inflicted heavy casualties on US forces in Dubai, a claim vehemently denied by the US Central Command, raising concerns about regional stability.
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."
Amidst ongoing conflict, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signals a potential de-escalation by apologising to neighbouring countries while firmly rejecting US President Donald Trump's demand for unconditional surrender.
'Strikes into the Gulf countries are proof that the security guarantees offered by the US are ineffective and that the Gulf countries cannot rely on American security assurances for their safety.'
The West Asia conflict escalated sharply as Iran launched missiles towards Israel, while Tehran confirmed the killing of its intelligence minister in Israeli strikes, marking the third assassination of a senior Iranian official in two days.
Qatar has halted liquefied natural gas (LNG) production after its facilities came under attack amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, disrupting supplies to India and squeezing feedstock availability for key domestic sectors.
'Our diplomacy should have been focused on preventing war and avoiding the inevitable disruptions it would cause, posing a real risk to India's growth story,' asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Israel wishes to continue its bombing campaign until Iran's military and industrial infrastructure are degraded to a point where it ceases to pose a threat to Israel. Iran, for its part, has learnt from its experience in the 12-day war of last June. Any ceasefire, it believes, will only be a prelude to another attack on itself. It is determined to convey that any attack on Iran will impose heavy costs on Israel, the US, America's allies in the Gulf -- and on the world at large, points out T T Ram Mohan.
Israel will continue its offensive in South Lebanon aimed at neutralising the threat from Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
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.
Families in Uttar Pradesh express anxiety over the safety of their relatives in the Middle East following a joint US-Israel military strike on Iran, which has triggered retaliatory actions and heightened regional tensions.
The UAE consulate in Erbil, located in Iraq's Kurdish region, suffered structural damage in the aerial attack. Officials said there were no casualties.
A top Iranian intelligence official was killed in an attack, with the Revolutionary Guard blaming the United States and Israel. The incident occurs amid escalating regional tensions, including IDF strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure and ongoing operations in Lebanon.
The Afghan Taliban have claimed that they killed three persons, including two Indians, and injured seven Afghan soldiers in a missile attack on a United States airbase and an Indian non-governmental organisation's office in eastern Kunar province.The claim was made by Afghan Taliban spokesman Qari Omar Haqqani, who spoke to reporters in Khar in Pakistan's Bajaur tribal region on the phone on Sunday. Haqqani claimed the militants attacked the office of the Indian NGO.
A Samajwadi Party leader has been booked for allegedly urging Muslims not to celebrate Eid as a protest against a US attack on Iran, claiming it was an appeal from jailed leader Azam Khan.
An email threatening missile and bomb attacks on the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan and other key locations in Mumbai triggered a security alert, prompting extensive searches and heightened security measures.
The US Navy seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, escalating tensions as ceasefire talks face uncertainty. The incident raises concerns about the fragile ceasefire and the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
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.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reports that over 1,150 Indian nationals have been evacuated from Iran through land borders into Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of the West Asia conflict. The MEA also confirmed that three Indians were injured in attacks in the UAE.
Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad in what analysts say is the formal opening of a new diplomatic formation that could reshape the post-war regional order. Their immediate goal is a ceasefire; their larger ambition is to ensure that neither Iran nor Israel emerges from this war in a dominant position. Pakistan's foreign minister then flew directly to Beijing and mooted a Chinese role as guarantor of any eventual agreement. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Pakistan is set to host face-to-face talks between the United States and Iran, aiming to solidify a fragile ceasefire and prevent further conflict in West Asia. The discussions will focus on a long-term peace arrangement, including sanctions relief, regional security, and Iran's nuclear program.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday backed Israel's ongoing military operation in Lebanon, stating that Hezbollah "was not included" in the recent ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran, which halted the conflict in West Asia for two weeks.
The logic of war plus the gathering storms in US politics as the midterms loom large leave him with no real alternative but to negotiate, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel and the US struck Iran because Tehran had restarted its nuclear programme and it would have gone 'immune within months'. He claimed Iran was building new underground sites to shield its missile and nuclear programmes from attacks.
The missile hit a plantation in Margaliot, a moshav (collective agricultural community), in the Galilee region in the north of Israel around 11 am on Monday, Zaki Heller, spokesperson for rescue services Magen David Adom (MDA), told PTI.
Iran's Ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, has said there are no ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington, DC, countering United States President Donald Trump's claims of peace overtures.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian maintained a stance of defensive necessity, noting that Tehran is "forced to retaliate to attacks" but clarified that this does not imply a dispute with neighbouring countries
'No civilian deserves to live in fear. No civilian deserves to be caught up in a war which is destabilising the entire region.'
The United States used an array of weapons in the strikes conducted against Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury on Saturday -- which included artificial intelligence services from Anthropic, according to a report by Reuters.
Two drones struck areas surrounding Dubai International Airport on Wednesday amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, injuring four people including an Indian national, though authorities said there were no fatalities and flight operations continued normally.
Lapid said the Israeli military carried out everything that was asked of it, but Netanyahu failed politically and strategically.
The Kuwaiti Defence Ministry said all crew members of the crashed aircraft ejected safely and were taken to a hospital for medical check-ups.
In the video, the Supreme Leader can be seen teaching religious studies to a group of pupils who are listening attentively. The IRIB said that the video of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was published for the first time.
He also warned the Gulf countries, which are allowing the US to launch an attack from their soil, vowing to "punish" the regional partners.
A group of Indian sailors recount their harrowing experience of being detained in Iran on suspicion of smuggling, and their subsequent escape from the country as regional tensions escalated into open conflict.
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).
