The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has refuted reports suggesting a deal with Iran involving the release of seized vessels in exchange for safe passage of Indian ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Indian Coast Guard intercepted three vessels involved in an international oil smuggling syndicate operating in international waters near Mumbai, uncovering a sophisticated operation that evaded customs duties.
The Indian government has refuted reports suggesting a deal with Iran involving the release of seized oil tankers in exchange for safe passage of Indian vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
India has seized three US-sanctioned oil tankers linked to Iran and increased surveillance in its maritime zone to curb illicit trade.
According to a post on X by the US European Command, the tanker violated US sanctions and was tracked by the US Coast Guard cutter Munro prior to the operation.
The US Coast Guard seized a Russian oil tanker, the Marinera, in the North Atlantic. The crew includes three Indian citizens. Moscow has protested the seizure, calling it a violation of international maritime law and demanding humane treatment of the crew.
Ten marine fishermen were arrested for illegally fishing in the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, a protected turtle congregation zone in Odisha's Kendrapara district. Their fishing trawler was also seized, and they were remanded to judicial custody.
According to a statement cited by TASS, the Russian foreign ministry said it is closely monitoring reports that the US military has boarded the tanker Mariner, originally Bella 1, on the high seas, noting that Russian citizens are among the crew.
Delhi should keep all its options open in what is essentially a transitional period in the geopolitics of energy rather than remain a gatekeeper serving Trump's 'America First', suggests Ambasssador M K Bhadrakumar.
Rice exporters in Haryana are facing potential payment delays and shipment disruptions to Iran and Afghanistan following recent military strikes on Iran.
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.
Following the seizure, Moscow issued a strong condemnation asserting that no country has the right to use force against vessels lawfully registered under another state's jurisdiction, particularly on the high seas.
Indian eateries are adapting to the LPG crisis by cutting menus, increasing prices, and switching to alternative fuels like coal, as LPG supplies are disrupted due to global events. State authorities are cracking down on hoarding and black marketing of LPG cylinders.
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
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 question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
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 Indian Navy's frontline frigate INS Tarkash has seized over 2,500 kgs of narcotics in the Western Indian Ocean, officials said on Wednesday. The operation was launched after receiving intelligence on suspicious movements of vessels on March 31. INS Tarkash intercepted and boarded a suspect dhow, guided by a P8I marine surveillance aircraft and the Maritime Operations Centre in Mumbai. A specialist boarding team, including Marine Commandos, discovered over 2,500 kgs of narcotic substances (including 2,386 kgs of hashish and 121 kgs of heroin) onboard the vessel.
President of the United States Donald Trump on Saturday confirmed that the US had carried out a large strike against Venezuela during which the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured and taken out of the country.
In a major anti-narcotics operation, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) seized a vessel with six Myanmarese crew carrying 6,000 kg of contraband Methamphetamine near Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an official said on Monday.
A joint operation by anti-narcotics agencies led to the seizure of about 700 kg of drugs and the arrest of eight Iranian nationals from Indian territorial waters off the Gujarat coast around Porbandar on Friday.
Official sources in India said it is in touch with Iran to secure the release of 17 Indians.
The Indian Embassy, while sharing details of their release, thanked the Iranian authorities for their close coordination with the Embassy and Indian Consulate in Bandar Abbas.
At the airport, Joseph was received by the regional passport officer.
The father said that he has not received any updates from the state or the Central governments regarding his daughter's current status.
'This is the first case in which we saw use of Starlink by smugglers.'
Pakistan is allegedly working on an offensive chemical and biological warfare program with the help of its 'all-weather friend' China.
A Special Investigation Team of the Kerala Police on Saturday began the search and ballistic examination of weapons on board oil tanker Enrica Lexie in the presence of Italian experts who arrived in Kochi on Saturday morning from Rome. Police will seize and seal the fire arms, suspected to have been used by the two arrested Italian naval guards Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, in the killing of two Indian fishermen off Kollam coast on February 15.
US strikes on Iran's three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows.
During an interaction at a conclave in New Delhi, he also said that the Indian Navy is seized of the docking of various PLA Navy ships at ports in Pakistan, and it is 'keeping a watch on it'.
Sources are in touch with Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels, both in Tehran and in Delhi.
The overnight operation in the Arabian Sea was carried out in coordination with the Gujarat Anti-terrorism Squad and the Narcotics Control Bureau, it said.
In the combined raid of the navy, armour and engineering forces, along with air force support, about ten tunnel shafts were destroyed, and four buildings of associated terrorist infrastructure were destroyed, the IDF said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the six persons sentenced to 20-year imprisonment, out of the eight crew members who were on board the merchant vessel 'Henry'.
Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal made the request during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran on Monday.
A probe into the biggest drug haul of 6,000 kg methamphetamine in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has shown that the Myanmarese smugglers were using the Starlink satellite internet services for navigation through the mid-sea, a top police officer said on Thursday. Authorities suspect that the drug consignments may be linked to notorious international cartels, such as Tse Chi Lop's (the Chinese El Chapo) or Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes' (El Mencho) operations.
The ICG and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad apprehended the fishing boat in a joint operation in the high seas on Sunday afternoon, the coast guard said in a release in Ahmedabad.
The drugs seized include 3,089 kilograms of charas, 158 kg of Methamphetamine and 25 kg of morphine.
The seized hazardous cargo containers were en route from Karachi in Pakistan to Shanghai in China, and the containers were not destined for Mundra Port.
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