16 days into the war, US forces were already running out of ground-attack missiles and Israel is about to expend its entire Arrow interceptor missiles by end March. To be sure, the Iranians are watching closely and that explains their defiant stance that 'Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its conditions are met', notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Not subscribing to the view that the Indo-US nuclear deal is dead, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said he was still hopeful of the deal. "I hope good sense will prevail. I am negotiating in good faith," the Prime Minister said. His remarks came in the midst of government's renewed bid to enlist the support of Left parties for going ahead with securing the India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA.
Major powers including Britain and France said the agreement would benefit the non-proliferation regime.
The British government has called for a negotiated solution to prevent further escalation of conflict in the Middle East following joint strikes by the US and Israel on Iran, emphasizing the safety of UK nationals and the need to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Pakistan did not oppose the George W Bush administration's move to ink a civil nuclear agreement with India because it expected it would receive a similar deal from the United States, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.
He said during the talks, he explained to the Hungarian Foreign Minister that Pakistan, a declared nuclear state, has a transparent system to ensure strict check on proliferation.
India and Russia are expected to sign a nuclear deal for the construction of four additional reactors at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant and expansion of other sites during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's three-day visit to New Delhi beginning Thursday, a top official has said."We plan to sign on Friday an inter-governmental agreement with India to build another four reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, and envisaging cooperation," said a Russian official.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
More than 130 experts and non-governmental organisations from 23 countries have criticised the Ind0-US nuclear deal, saying its proposal to exempt India from the long-standing global nuclear trade standards "would damage the already fragile nuclear nonproliferation system and set back efforts to achieve universal nuclear disarmament".
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
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.
Trump described the agreement as the "worst" and "one-sided transactions" that America has ever entered into.
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.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
Key provisions of the Indo-US nuclear deal.
PM Modi and his Japanese counterpart are likely to sign several agreements, including on civil nuclear cooperation. Both leaders are also likely to discuss defence cooperation, including joint maritime exercises between Japan, India and the United States.
California representative Lantos was one of the key members of the Congress who were instrumental in getting the Henry J Hyde Act pertaining to the civilian nuclear initiative between India and the United States passed in 2006.
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".
Backing New Delhi's quest for a permanent seat in the UNSC, Rouhani asked why India, a nation with population of 1.3 billion, was not a member of the powerful club.
The president emeritus of Asia Society and former Kennedy administration official Phillips Talbot has said the nuclear agreement would benefit both countries as it would ensure strategic ties between Washington and New Delhi "for 20 or 30 years".
Extending its nuclear power plant supply relationship with India to the non-nuclear sector, Russia's integrated atomic power major Rosatom State Corporation is in talks for a 50:50 additive technology joint venture.
Menon will undertake a two-day visit from April 30 during which he will hold talks with US Under Secretary Nicholas Burns on the 123 agreement amid indications that Washington was 'frustrated' at the speed of the negotiations.
Israel has for more than two decades and several US presidencies worked to draw the United States into a full-scale war with Iran. Having finally achieved that, the last thing it wants is Trump declaring victory and going home, as he is prone to do. Ali Larijani was the figure most capable of handing Trump a negotiated exit with something to show for it. Without Larijani, the road to an exit gets considerably narrower. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Strongly backing the stalled civilian nuclear deal with India, Republican presidential candidate John McCain has said it would strengthen the US ties with the world's largest democracy and further involve New Delhi in non-proliferation efforts. McCain, 71, who has sealed the Republican nomination for the November Presidential elections, said the US should engage actively with both India and Pakistan to improve the security of nuclear stockpiles and weapons materials.
The two countries are aiming at sorting out differences particularly on issues like reprocessing right, perpetuity of fuel supplies and continuance of the civilian nuclear cooperation if India were to conduct an atomic test.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
'The entire US ecosystem built over decades at the bases in the Gulf region, especially the UAE, costing trillions of dollars have been decimated, dealing a mortal blow to the US Central Command's war capability,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India's actions on nuclear deal contingent on US actions
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed cooperation in trade, critical minerals, nuclear energy, and defence, reaffirming commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Indian and American experts on Wednesday held detailed discussions on a range of implementation issues, including administrative, liability, technical and licensing matters to advance the operationalisation of Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation that has been in limbo for past 9 years.
Government sources said amendments were being considered to the Atomic Energy Act to allow private sector participation and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act to limit the liability on suppliers of equipment to build atomic energy plants.
Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday said he will sign an agreement with India to sell uranium for non-weapon use. "Prime Minister Modi and I will today sign a nuclear cooperation agreement that will finally allow Australian uranium to India," he said while addressing a meeting, organised by industry chambers including CII and Ficci.
Leaders of the two countries, however, did discuss on Pakistan's nuclear safety and security which is an ongoing discussion.
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
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