Equipped with advanced weaponry, the HMS Anson is fitted with "Tomahawk Block IV land-attack missiles" with a range of 1,600 km and "Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes," providing formidable offensive capabilities.
Trump also asserted that US forces had struck hundreds of targets across Iran, including facilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and air defence systems.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for a negotiated settlement with Iran and deployed additional fighter jets to West Asia to strengthen the UK's defensive operations.
Trump has made it clear: the US will not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until a deal is signed.
China and Russia on Sunday strongly condemned the United States air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, with China calling it a serious violation of the United Nations Charter that heightens tensions in West Asia, and Russia terming the strikes 'irresponsible' and asserting that they grossly violate international law, the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions.
The UN Security Council, with India's support, has adopted a resolution condemning Iran's attacks on Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Jordan, demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities and denouncing threats to the Strait of Hormuz.
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.
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.
A major escalation unfolded in West Asia on Monday after Iran reportedly launched multiple missiles targeting United States military installations in Qatar and Iraq, including Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar -- the largest US military installation in the region, according to a CNN report.
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.
...reopen for up to six months. Until then, the Strait stays nearly closed. The world pays. And no one, including the man who started this, can say when it ends, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin on Saturday claimed that the Israeli Air Force has achieved aerial freedom of action over Tehran, which is 'no longer immune'.
A 4.6 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Pakistan on Monday with the epicentre located close to a prominent faultline in its Punjab province, the director of the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said.
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
While the final military and intelligence assessment has yet to come, Trump has repeatedly claimed to have "completely and totally obliterated" Tehran's nuclear programme.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged its citizens to immediately depart from several Middle Eastern countries, citing "serious safety risks."
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on Monday amid heightened tensions in the Middle East after the US bombed three major nuclear sites in Iran. The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 705.65 points to 81,702.52 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 182.85 points to 24,929.55.
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.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
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.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the operation as a historic moment for the US, Israel and the world, while urging Iran to agree to end the ongoing conflict.
Trump may strike. He may announce productive talks and extend again. He may do both at the same time. Iran will not open the Strait on someone else's terms, so no matter what happens, that problem will remain unsolved. And the IRGC will still be collecting its $2 million toll from every ship bold enough to ask permission to pass.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was taken over by Russian forces last month, has stopped transmitting data to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations atomic watchdog has said, expressing deep concern for the staff working under Russian troops at the nuclear site in northern Ukraine.
The US-Israeli military campaign, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury" by Washington, has entered its third day, with US President Donald Trump stating that operations would continue "until all of our objectives are achieved."
'Within minutes, my mobile began ringing. It was National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, asking why the Iranians were complaining.' 'I explained that we had only restated our position in the light of the conclusion reached by the IAEA, but will remain helpful to Iran to reach a consensus.' 'Then came a call from Foreign Secretary Kamal Sibal, repeating what Mishra said about the Iranian complaint.' 'I was very impressed that Iran was able to reach two top officials in India to intervene at short notice,' recalls Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The India-US nuclear deal was aimed at ending India's nuclear isolation and nuclear apartheid, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
In a Truth Social Post, Trump said, "This cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days."
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.
United States President Donald Trump has opened a two-week window for diplomacy with Iran before deciding on military action, aiming to restart stalled negotiations amid Israel's bombing campaign, CNN reported.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
The United States, which entered this war in expectation of a short, sharp win along the Venezuela model, is now preparing for deeper involvement in a conflict it does not fully control, without the allies it typically relies on, against an adversary that is not behaving as expected, in a global environment that is already absorbing economic shock. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Over the weekend, one senior US official told CNN, the Israelis had an opportunity to kill Iran's supreme leader.
India's diagnostics sector is accelerating capacity addition and geographic expansion, as large chains and regional players invest in new laboratories, integrated centres and dense sample collection networks to tap rising demand for preventive, advanced and precision testing.
The crises of the 21st century, 9/11, the economic meltdown, COVID-19, Russia-Iran war and the Hamas-Israel war seem to be never ending. In this situation, Iran might be contemplating a nuclear deterrent to defend itself, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the distinguished long-time Rediff contributor who turns 80 on June 17..
Trump signed the bill during a military family picnic at the White House on US Independence Day. The administration had aimed to have the legislation finalised by July 4.
With the fight now having been taken to the seizure of nuclear plants, it is one more warning to Europe that this prolonged war could end up with disastrous consequences, observes Rashme Sehgal
The pause gives the US time to breathe, to regroup, to move its expeditionary force into position without risk of interception along the way. It gives Iran nothing -- on the ground, attacks against its infrastructure continue apace. Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The Pakistan government, as well as the country's military establishment, have come under severe criticism from netizens on social media for recommending United States President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Fuel loading at India's first prototype fast-breeder reactor in Kalpakkam is expected to start next week, marking a significant step in the country's nuclear program.
Iran on Monday launched multiple missiles at US military installations in Qatar and Iraq, including the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar -- the largest US military base in the region.
