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U.S. President Donald Trump has said that Washington is prepared to widen its military campaign against Iran if necessary, keep the Strait of Hormuz open by force if required, and offer political-risk insurance for tankers operating in the Gulf, as he claimed the war is “very close” to ending and that Iran’s military capacity has been largely destroyed. File Photo: OSINT Defender on X Speaking at a White House press conference , Trump said the United States and Israel had already achieved most of their military objectives under what he called “Operation Epic Fury,” claiming that Iran’s naval power had been almost entirely destroyed, its missile capability had fallen to about 10 percent, and its drone-launching capacity had dropped by more than 80 percent.  “We’ve struck over 5,000 targets to date,” Trump said, adding that some of the most important targets had deliberately been held back for later “in case we need to do it.” The day President Donald J. Trump came down the escalator...

Russia may stop supplying oil and gas to Europe ahead of planned EU restrictions , President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, and warned that the escalating war in the Middle East is already disrupting global energy logistics and driving oil prices sharply higher. Speaking at a meeting with senior Russian energy officials and industry executives, Putin said the government had been instructed to evaluate the possibility of halting energy exports to the European market rather than waiting for new European Union restrictions to take effect. File Photo of Russian Prez Vladimir Putin; Via: MFA Russia   “The government has already been tasked with assessing the possibility and advisability of stopping supplies of our energy resources to the European market,” Putin said, and referred to EU plans to impose additional limits on Russian hydrocarbons starting April 25 , with proposals that could culminate in a complete ban by 2027 . Putin suggested Russia could redirect those volumes towa...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman The widening war triggered by U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran has already spilled beyond the battlefield, and is now reshaping global energy markets, disrupting maritime trade routes and pulling major powers into an increasingly complex geopolitical confrontation. The military campaign that was aimed at weakening Tehran’s leadership and military infrastructure has already evolved into a broader international crisis, driving oil prices higher, forcing governments to activate emergency economic measures and threatening the stability of key shipping corridors from the Strait of Hormuz to the eastern Mediterranean. The energy infrastructure has burnt down, health systems have faltered and diplomatic positions have hardened across Europe, Asia and the Gulf.  Representational Image Via: The Insider Paper on X Energy market data firm Kpler said Monday that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most ...

India has activated emergency evacuation and support mechanisms for its citizens stranded in the Gulf as the widening Iran war continues to disrupt aviation routes across the region, with nearly 1,000 Indians departing Doha over the past three days on Qatar Airways flights , according to the Embassy of India in Qatar. File Photo Via fl360aero on X In an advisory issued Monday evening, the embassy said more than 300 Indian passengers flew from Doha to New Delhi earlier in the day , part of an ongoing effort to clear stranded travellers affected by flight disruptions linked to the regional conflict . The embassy said Qatar Airways had cooperated closely with Indian authorities , helping facilitate the departures of Indians who had been stranded in transit or on short-term visits as air routes across the Gulf face operational challenges . Additional flights are being planned to help evacuate more travellers. According to the advisory, three Qatar Airways flights to Delhi, Mumbai and ...

The expanding war triggered by the U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 has now killed more than 1,600 people across the Middle East , with multiple countries drawn into the conflict and governments around the world scrambling to cushion their economies from soaring energy prices and supply disruptions. Representational Image Via: Ideologix on X The deadliest toll has been reported in Iran , where at least 1,230 people have been killed , according to figures cited by the humanitarian organisation Iranian Red Crescent Society. Among the casualties were 175 schoolgirls and school staff killed in a missile strike on a primary school in Minab on the first day of the war. Iranian military officials also said 104 sailors were killed when a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka last week, though those deaths were not included in the Red Crescent’s overall casualty figure. The conflict has also caused fatalities in Israel, where authorities say two soldiers...

The United Nations cultural agency UNESCO has warned that the escalating war across the Middle East is placing World Heritage sites, schools, media institutions and fragile ecosystems at growing risk, as the conflict spreads across multiple countries and continues to cause large-scale civilian casualties and displacement. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Isfahan; Via: Assal Rad In a statement issued as fighting intensifies across the region, UNESCO said it was “deeply concerned over the protection of education, culture, media and the environment amid the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East and beyond.” The organisation said the situation has deteriorated rapidly since the outbreak of hostilities on February 28, warning that several sites of global cultural significance have already been affected. “Since the outbreak of hostilities on 28 February , several sites of cultural significance, including the Golestan Palace in Iran, the White City of Tel Aviv in Israel, and Tyre in Leban...

Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei , the son of the slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , as the country’s new supreme leader , state media reported Monday, marking a pivotal moment in the rapidly escalating Middle East war that has already spread across multiple countries and pushed global oil prices above $100 per barrel . Image Source: Iran in India Mojtaba Khamenei was selected by Iran’s Assembly of Experts , the 88-member body of senior clerics responsible for appointing the country’s supreme leader, following the killing of his father in U.S.–Israeli strikes earlier in the conflict . The appointment places the younger Khamenei at the center of Iran’s military and political response to the war, as the country’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) answers directly to the supreme leader and plays a central role in directing Iran’s regional strategy. The announcement came as U.S. President Donald Trump issued a warning about Tehran’s new leadership , and said the ...

India has ramped up aviation operations to bring back stranded travellers from West Asia as the escalating regional war continues to disrupt airspace across the Gulf and surrounding regions. According to an update issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation , Indian carriers are planning around 50 flights on March 9 from airports across the Gulf to assist passengers attempting to return home amid the rapidly evolving security situation. Ambassador Deepak Mittal at the passport and consular service centre at Al Reem. File Photo: MEA The ministry said it was closely monitoring the airspace environment across West Asia and working with airlines to ensure passenger safety while maintaining orderly flight operations. Passenger movement data from March 7 shows that 51 inbound flights operated by Indian carriers arrived in India carrying 8,175 passengers from the region. Airlines including Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Akasa Air have been operating services from key Gulf h...

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said his government considers Hezbollah’s military and security activities illegal and remains open to negotiations aimed at ending the war, even as Israeli strikes continue across Lebanon and hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced. In remarks published from an interview with the French-language newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour , Salam said Lebanon’s cabinet had formally declared that Hezbollah’s armed operations were unlawful and reaffirmed the state’s long-term objective of placing all weapons under government control. File Photo Via Nawaf Salam “Our position is clear and we will not change our course,” Salam said, and noted that the cabinet, with the participation of the president and the backing of a majority of ministers, had concluded that Hezbollah’s military activities were illegal and must cease. The Lebanese leader said the government was prepared to resume negotiations under an internationally supervised framework that wou...