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 The United States has begun enforcing a naval blockade targeting ships linked to Iranian ports, marking a significant escalation in the six-week-long conflict between the U.S.-Israel coalition and Iran and shifting the confrontation toward economic warfare.  Representational Image: Visegrad 24 The blockade, which U.S. Central Command had earlier indicated would take effect Monday evening Iran time, applies to vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports or coastal waters, while ships using non-Iranian ports are not being targeted.  Although no formal operational announcement was issued at the time of enforcement, the move effectively seeks to restrict Iran’s maritime trade and energy exports through the Gulf. U.S. President Donald Trump said vessels had continued to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming that 34 ships transited the waterway on Sunday, though no independent confirmation was available.  He also repeated assertions that Iran had reached out seeking a...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a second high-level meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg to review India’s preparedness in the context of the ongoing West Asia conflict , with a focus on safeguarding essential supplies, stabilising prices and insulating the economy from prolonged global disruptions.  Representational Image: USS Tripoli (LHA 7) sails in the Indian Ocean, March 29; Via: CentCom The Cabinet Secretary briefed the CCS on measures to ensure uninterrupted availability of petroleum products, particularly LPG and LNG, along with sufficient power supply, noting that sourcing is being diversified with new inflows from multiple countries. The Prime Minister directed that “all efforts must be made to safeguard the citizens from the impact of this conflict” and emphasised coordinated action across ministries. The CCS review comes alongside a detailed inter-ministerial briefing earlier in the day, where multiple de...

The Indian government has now said it has moved to stabilise critical sectors and protect citizens as the West Asia war disrupts energy flows and global supply chains. Government officials detailed a sweeping set of emergency measures spanning fuel availability, shipping security and large-scale evacuations.  According to a government communique , all refineries are operating at high capacity with “adequate crude inventories” while petrol pumps across the country remain fully functional, even as authorities acknowledged “abnormal increase in crude prices” and instances of panic buying driven by rumours.  File Photo Via: @HardeepSPuri on X To shield consumers, the government has reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹10 per litre and imposed export levies on diesel and aviation turbine fuel to prioritise domestic supply, while reiterating that “there are adequate stocks of petrol and diesel available at all Petrol Pumps in the country” and urging citizens to avoid pa...

U.S. President Donald Trump sharply escalated tensions with European allies on Tuesday, lashing out at countries that have refused to support the war against Iran even as several governments moved to block military cooperation amid growing legal and economic concerns.  In posts on Truth Social, Trump criticised allies including the United Kingdom and France, telling countries struggling with fuel shortages to “go get your own oil” from the Gulf and suggesting they should “ just TAKE IT ” from the Strait of Hormuz, remarks that further rattled already volatile energy markets.  Image Via: @coinbureau on X His comments came as France blocked Israeli aircraft carrying military supplies from using its airspace, Italy denied U.S. bombers landing access in Sicily, and Spain reaffirmed it would not permit U.S. use of its bases, with Madrid declaring it would not “accept lectures from anyone.”  While the U.K. has allowed U.S. use of its bases despite calling the war illegal, ...

Iran has again rejected claims of active negotiations with the United States even as it confirmed ongoing indirect communication, showing the widening contradictions in diplomatic messaging around efforts to end the month-long war.  Image Via: MFA China Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Tehran has been “receiving direct messages” from U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff “as before,” but stressed these exchanges “do not constitute negotiations,” adding that such communications include “threats or exchanged views” routed through regional intermediaries and handled formally by Iran’s foreign ministry.  He categorically denied any engagement on Washington’s reported proposals, stating “there is no truth to the claim of negotiations with any party in Iran” and that “we have not sent any response to the 15 American proposals, nor have we submitted any proposals or conditions.”  Araghchi reiterated Tehran’s position that ending the conflict requires mor...

One month into the ongoing war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 31 framed the conflict as a decisive and continuing campaign against Iran, saying “in every generation, they rise up against us to destroy us,” and asserting that Israel, alongside the United States, has “inflicted 10 plagues upon the axis of evil—and achieved 10 monumental accomplishments,” even as he acknowledged the human cost, stating that “there are also painful prices” and that “just yesterday… we lost four of our finest sons.” File Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Addressing the nation, Netanyahu said that after “a month into our joint campaign… we are systematically crushing the regime of terror,” describing Iran as a state that for decades called for the destruction of Israel and pursued that goal through “nuclear programs, ballistic missiles, and the funding and arming of terror proxies,” while claiming that the current war has reversed that trajectory, arguing that “before ...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman Wars often appear at first as regional confrontations defined by the geography of the battlefield but the Iran war that is now unfolding across West Asia is revealing something far more consequential that has served a systemic shock to the global order. What began as a military escalation between Iran, the United States and Israel has rapidly expanded into a crisis that touches the most critical systems underpinning modern globalization, namely energy supply, maritime trade, aviation networks, financial markets and the millions of workers who sustain them. The war is not only being fought in the skies over the Middle East or the waters of the Persian Gulf but it is also unfolding across the infrastructure that powers the global economy itself. Representational Image Via: @RedPrecariat on X At the center of this crisis lies the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow maritime corridor through which roughly one-fifth of the world...

India on March 25 continued to mount a coordinated political, diplomatic and administrative response to the escalating West Asia war, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stating he was “ pleased to meet US Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby ” and that they “exchanged views on the current geopolitical scenario,” even as the 18th India–US Defence Policy Group meeting in New Delhi saw both sides “review ongoing initiatives,” identify “priority areas for co-development & co-production of defence equipment,” and “reaffirm commitment to enhancing military-to-military cooperation through joint exercises, training visits & strategic exchanges,” signalling that defence coordination with Washington is also being sharpened alongside the unfolding conflict. A snapshot from U.S.-India Defense Policy Group; Via: USAmbIndia on X The engagement was reinforced at multiple levels, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri meeting Colby to discuss “advancing bilateral defenc...

U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States is engaged in active negotiations with Iran and has paused planned strikes on key Iranian energy infrastructure, even as he claimed American military operations have “decimated” Tehran’s capabilities, marking a sharp dual-track approach of coercion and diplomacy in the ongoing war.  Image Via: @WhiteHouse on X Speaking during a swearing-in ceremony for the new Homeland Security Secretary and later at a Memphis security roundtable, Trump said Washington had held “very good discussions” with Iran over the past two days and was delaying attacks on “major energy and electricity targets” to test the possibility of a broader agreement. In running remarks that underscored both escalation and restraint, Trump said the U.S. had been “going to have the privilege of shooting down a very big electric generation plant… and we held off based on the fact that we’re negotiating,” adding that “they want to make a deal so badly… we’re actuall...