Iran has blamed the US for disruptions in oil and gas shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, citing 'destabilising actions' as the cause amid the ongoing West Asia conflict and rising energy prices.
The family of Dixit Solanki, an Indian seafarer killed in a suspected attack on a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman, has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking the return of his mortal remains.
Amid rising tensions in West Asia, China is urging all parties to cease military operations, following Trump's appeal for help in securing the Strait of Hormuz.
Tensions escalate between Iran and the US following an attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Sea of Oman, with both sides trading accusations over maritime security and ceasefire violations.
Iran on Thursday spelled out three conditions to end the war with Israel and the United States, which entered its thirteenth day today. Taking to X, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said he reaffirmed the country's commitment to peace during talks with leaders of Russia and Pakistan.
Iranian forces fired upon three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, with one possibly headed for Gujarat, raising concerns about maritime security in the strategic waterway.
Iranian representatives have conveyed to the Trump administration that they are unwilling to resume talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, preferring instead to engage with Vice President J D Vance.
India summoned the Iranian envoy after two Indian vessels had to reverse course in the Strait of Hormuz following an incident of firing by Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
A convoy of India-bound ships carrying crude oil and gas was stopped by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz, leading to several vessels returning to the Persian Gulf.
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence has announced that the air force and air defence forces have successfully intercepted a significant number of aerial threats following a large-scale Iranian attack that commenced on February 28.
The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis.
If the oil infrastructure is attacked by the United States, the whole area could be flooded with oil, spilling into the Persian Gulf.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
'Preliminary investigations suggest that the cause of the fires are small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas. Teams from the competent authorities have been dispatched and the fire is currently being put out,' news reports said.
US President Donald Trump has indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran at the request of Pakistan, aiming to allow Tehran's leadership time to form a unified proposal to end the seven-week war.
US President Donald Trump has announced plans to clear the Strait of Hormuz to secure the vital oil corridor, citing risks to global energy supplies and criticising other nations' inaction.
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.
Sensex and Nifty post steepest weekly loss in over a year, falling nearly 3 per cent.
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.
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.
The United States Central Command confirmed that the USS Rafael Peralta intercepted an Iranian-flagged ship, enforcing a maritime blockade against Iran. The US military is prepared to resume major combat operations if ordered by the President.
The Indian government reports casualties among its seafarers due to the ongoing crisis in West Asia and outlines measures to ensure the safety and welfare of its maritime personnel.
With the Iran war escalating sharply and crisis deepening in the global energy market, India on Monday unveiled a coordinated plan to support exporters and shippers caught in the fallout.
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.
Authorities in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, have launched an inquiry after a man and his elderly mother were allegedly assaulted at a petrol pump. A video of the incident went viral, prompting swift action from local officials.
Tensions between Washington, DC and Tehran have reached a boiling point, as a heavy barrage of aerial strikes was reported across multiple locations in Iran on Tuesday.
India has denied making any payments to Iran to secure safe passage for its vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, following reports that Indian vessels were fired upon in the region.
According to the report, the Pentagon is deploying the USS Tripoli ARG, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), part of its own strike group.
Amidst rising Middle East tensions, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar highlights India's strategic dialogue with Iran to safeguard maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring India's energy security and continued oil trade.
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 Indian government has reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel to mitigate the impact of rising global crude prices, triggered by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This move aims to provide relief to consumers and oil companies amidst volatile international oil markets.
...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.
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.
President Trump asserts the US military has decimated Iran's forces and no longer requires assistance from NATO allies to secure the Strait of Hormuz, despite earlier requests for support.
Petrol diesel price today March 20, 2026: IOCL & HPCL hike premium petrol (XP95, Speed, Power) by 2/litre and industrial diesel by 22/litre. Regular petrol in Delhi 94.77, diesel 87.67 unchanged. Full city-wise rates inside.
Taliban militants targeted a convoy of the NATO supply vehicles and torched 50 oil tankers in northwest Pakistan, hours after a similar attack in the southwest killed a man and destroyed 20 tankers.
IRGC said vessels seeking to sail through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz must obtain Iran's approval; otherwise, they could become targets of Iranian attacks.
Petrol diesel price today March 20, 2026: IOCL & HPCL hike premium petrol (XP95, Speed, Power) by 2/litre and industrial diesel by 22/litre. Regular petrol in Delhi 94.77, diesel 87.67 unchanged. Full city-wise rates inside.
Whether Trump will actually press ahead with the oil sanctions remains unclear, since keeping Russian oil out of the world market risks high oil prices which could boomerang on the US economy and be damaging politically for Trump, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
