Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath has said that a broad political consensus was necessary on the deal. Nath pointed out that it was because of this consensus that economic reforms have continued despite changes in governments and prime ministers. He said that it needs to be looked more as an energy deal rather than nuclear deal. To ease the tight power situation, he said India is looking for clean coal technology as also alternative sources of energy.
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 key UNPA meet has decided to consult experts on the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal.
The United States has said that it is not contemplating any deal with Pakistan similar to the India-US nuclear agreement, insisting that New Delhi's case was unique because of its past record on non-proliferation.Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday indicated that the country may seek a similar arrangement with its close ally China. "Pakistan will now make efforts for a civil nuclear deal and they (the world community) will have to accommodate us," he said.
The clock on the ceasefire is running out. But everyone's already whispering about round two, possibly as soon as this weekend.
Hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that his country "qualifies" for a civilian nuclear deal with the US, like that of India, the Obama Administration in a blunt message told it that such a deal is not on platter of its talks with Islamabad.
In an exclusive interview, former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra argues why he has changed his earlier opposition to the India-US nuclear deal.
It said it was only after the announcement that the Bush administration began briefing members of Congress and in the process created lasting problems.
For weeks, the war skirted the edge of catastrophe without tipping over. Missiles flew, there was much destruction, commanders were assassinated, cities across the Gulf and even in Israel struggled to absorb the shock. But one line held: Energy infrastructure, the arteries of the global economy, remained largely untouched. That is no longer true. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
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.
An Indian national sustained a minor injury in Abu Dhabi after debris from an intercepted ballistic missile fell in a residential area. Emergency teams responded to the incident, and authorities urged the public to rely on official sources for information.
At a time when the global nuclear industry is somewhat dormant, India's ambitious plans to increase power generation capacity substantially through the nuclear route has come as a shot in the arm for nuclear suppliers who are looking for big money and to revive their industry.
A top Bush Administration official has expressed hope that the civil nuclear deal with India will be done and that the Americans, in about twenty years, would be able to look at India as being one of its two or three most important partners.
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.
He said Musharraf brought up the issue of Pakistan's energy needs during their talks and added the US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman would be visiting Pakistan soon for discussions
The crucial civil nuclear cooperation will be high on the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his 10-day visit to the United States and France, which begins on Monday.The prime minister will attend the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he would pitch for collective and multilateral approaches to deal with global challenges like food and energy crises and terrorism.
The White House has responded cautiously to reports of Pakistan offering to mediate between the US and Iran, amid ongoing tensions and potential talks.
Samajwadi Party General Secretary and MP Shahid Siddiqui speaks on his party's relations with the Congress, the Indo-US nuclear deal and Muslim votes.
India's handling of the Iran crisis reflects a growing strain between strategic autonomy and geopolitical alignment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
An Indian national has died in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under unclear circumstances following recent events. The Indian Embassy is providing assistance to the family and liaising with local authorities.
The 'rescue' operation occurred within kilometres of Iran's underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, assessed by the IAEA and US intelligence as holding a substantial portion of the country's 60 per cent enriched uranium stockpile. Retired senior US military officers have highlighted that the mission's footprint -- hundreds of special operators, multiple heavy-lift aircraft deep inside Iran -- appears outsized for recovering a single airman. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
The India-Japan civil nuclear deal might not fructify anytime too soon, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledging that India was keenly aware of Japanese sensitivities on the matter and "would not like to force the issue".Dr Singh was addressing a business luncheon attended by top leaders of business and industry from India and Japan in Tokyo on Monday.
'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.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a joint operation with the US against Iran, citing the threat posed by its nuclear ambitions and support for terrorism.
Pakistan and China are among the countries which are testing nuclear weapons, United States President Donald Trump has said to justify his administration's plans to resume testing of the US's own nuclear assets after a gap of over three decades.
'What we have yet to see on either the US or the Iranian side is willingness to compromise on their ultimate demands and the flexibility to reach an agreement to end the war.
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.
US President Donald Trump asserted that the trade deal with India remains intact despite a Supreme Court ruling against his tariffs, while also claiming he used tariffs to stop a war between India and Pakistan.
'Much will depend on the position of the United States.' 'It will have to be seen to what extent the US will be more interested in achieving some form of a deal and to what extent Israel will be allowed to continue to carry out both airstrikes and the killing of Iranian officials.'
Already India is a global leader in high technology. The nuclear deal will end India's nuclear isolation and enable India to become a global champion of the nuclear renaissance, combating global climate change, USIBC President Ron Somers said.
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.
US President Donald Trump will travel to China in May for a rescheduled summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, following a postponement due to the war in Iran. The White House has announced the new dates and indicated a reciprocal visit to Washington DC is planned.
Rajya Sabha member Sudha Murty urges mandatory counsellors in schools to support children facing sexual offences during a debate on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Iran launched retaliatory military strikes targeting Israel and American military bases across the region, including in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
The Congress on Monday emphasised once again that the United Progressive Alliance was not scrapping the India-United States nuclear agreement right now and said that it was making efforts to allay the apprehensions of the Left allies over the agreement. "There is no backing off right now," said All India Congress Committee spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed. He was responding to questions on whether the Indo-US nuclear deal had been put on hold in view of the opposition.
The Congress party has criticised the Indian government's diplomatic strategy, claiming a 'severe setback' if reports of Pakistan mediating between the US-Israel and Iran are accurate. The party alleges Pakistan's diplomatic engagement has surpassed India's, despite military successes.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday criticised the United States over its stance on Russian oil, claiming Washington was now "begging" countries across the globe, including India, to purchase Russian crude.
"'If the Congress agrees to freeze the deal, then, no country in the world will deal with India in future. Every time you go for negotiations, other countries will ask 'Have the Left parties given you permission to have the deal?'"
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