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U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a direct warning to Iran , saying that if Tehran does not “fully open, without threat, the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours,” the United States “will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first.” The statement, posted publicly, marks one of the most explicit escalation threats yet tied directly to the security of the world’s most critical energy chokepoint . File Photo Via: BRICS Info The warning comes amid an intensifying war in West Asia , where maritime security, energy infrastructure and civilian supply chains have all come under strain. The Strait of Hormuz handles a significant share of global oil and LNG flows, and any disruption has immediate consequences for global energy markets, shipping routes and downstream economies, including major importers such as India. Trump’s latest threat follows a series of seemingly contradictory moves by Washington. Even as U.S. forces have carried out strikes targeti...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman Iran on Saturday allegedly launched missiles toward Diego Garcia, a remote island in the Indian Ocean that hosts a major U.K.–U.S. military base, in what Britain described as “reckless attacks,” though the strike was unsuccessful and it remains unclear how the missiles came close to the base located roughly 4,000 kilometers from Iran. Later an unnamed Iranian Official denied that Iran had fired those missiles bt this has opened the pandora's box for India, let's understand how. File Photo of Diego Garcia, a U.S.-UK base in the Indian Ocean; Via: E u ropa on X The incident came just as the United Kingdom has expanded permissions for the United States to use its bases, including Diego Garcia, for “ specific and limited defensive operations ” targeting Iranian missile capabilities linked to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, even as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that British Prime Minist...

Iran launched missile attacks on southern Israel late Saturday, striking the cities of Arad and Dimona, wounding dozens of people and causing extensive damage to residential buildings, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as a “ very difficult evening in the battle for our future ” and vowed that Israel would “ continue striking our enemies on all fronts .” Verified Image from the shelling in Arad from Fire and Rescue Agency of Israel Via: Official Channel The Israeli military said it had “identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory,” with air defence systems activated and the Home Front Command issuing emergency alerts instructing civilians to take shelter. Rescue and emergency teams were deployed across multiple impact sites in southern Israel, with helicopters and ground forces assisting civilians as authorities warned the public to follow safety instructions. 🔴 Aerial footage of the scene in Arad declared as mass casualty event. The wounded...

Iran on Saturday used its highest-level engagement with India to sharply frame the ongoing war as “unlawful aggression” by the United States and Israel, with President Masoud Pezeshkian telling Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Iran “did not initiate the war” and that attacks were carried out “without any justification, logic, or legal basis,” even as Modi condemned strikes on energy infrastructure, stressed freedom of navigation, and called for an early return to peace through dialogue. File Photo of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian; Via: ShaykhSulaiman According to an official Iranian readout , Pezeshkian outlined what he described as the “dimensions of the aggression,” alleging that U.S. and Israeli strikes had resulted in the deaths of senior leaders, military commanders and civilians, including “innocent schoolchildren,” and claimed that a U.S. strike on a school in Minab led to the killing of 168 children.  He rejected U.S. assertions that the campaign was aimed...

India on Saturday sharpened its diplomatic outreach to both sides of the widening West Asia conflict, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to convey Eid and Nowruz greetings while explicitly condemning attacks on “critical infrastructure in the region” that “threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains,” and reiterating the need to “safeguard freedom of navigation” and keep shipping lanes “open and secure,” even as he acknowledged Iran’s support in ensuring the safety of Indian nationals.  File Photo of PM NaMo with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian; PMO Crop Via: BreakingMinutes The call marks a notable step in restoring high-level engagement after the Ministry of External Affairs had earlier indicated that communication with Iranian leadership was difficult to establish in the initial days of the war due to the rapidly evolving conflict environment. In an earlier conversation on March 13 , Modi had alr...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman Within a span of just over two weeks, the United States has issued three separate sanctions waivers, first for Indian-bound Russian crude, then for Russian oil globally, and now for Iranian crude itself. This has revealed a pattern that suggests Washington’s sanctions regime is no longer a static enforcement mechanism but a dynamic tool being repositioned in real time to balance war objectives with global energy stability. Representational Image Via:  U.S. Central Command As IndianRepublic.in had earlier reported on March 6 , the U.S. Treasury issued General License 133 permitting Indian refiners to receive Russian crude already at sea, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stating the aim was to “ensure oil continues flowing into global markets,” even while maintaining pressure on Russia. That India-specific measure was expanded on March 13 through General License 134 , which allowed the delivery of Russian crude glo...

The United States Treasury has authorized a limited, time-bound waiver allowing the delivery and sale of Iranian-origin crude oil already loaded on vessels before March 20, 2026, granting a one-month window until April 19, even as broader sanctions on Iran remain firmly in place. File Photo of Kharg Island; Via: Adam Cochran In an official General License  U  issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) , the U.S. said that “all transactions… ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil or petroleum products of Iranian origin loaded on any vessel… on or before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, March 20, 2026 are authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, April 19, 2026,” effectively creating a narrowly defined compliance window for cargoes already in transit. The license explicitly covers operational and logistical activities required to complete such deliveries, stating that permitted transactions include those nece...

U.S. President Donald Trump has said Washington is “very close” to achieving its military objectives in the ongoing conflict with Iran and is now considering winding down operations, outlining a five-point framework that includes dismantling Iran’s missile capabilities, destroying its defence industrial base, and preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons. File Photo of President Donald Trump Via: AF Post on X In a public statement , Trump said the United States aimed at “completely degrading Iranian missile capability, launchers, and everything else pertaining to them,” while also targeting “Iran’s defence industrial base” and “eliminating their Navy and Air Force, including anti-aircraft weaponry.” He added that a core objective remained “ never allowing Iran to get even close to nuclear capability ,” while ensuring the U.S. retains the ability to “quickly and powerfully react” if required. Trump also framed the campaign in terms of regional security, saying the U.S. was acti...

Iran has sharply escalated its rhetoric against the United Kingdom after London approved U.S. use of British bases for operations targeting Iranian missile capabilities , with Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warning that the move amounts to dangerous escalation and could trigger retaliation under Iran’s right to self-defence. File Photo of Seyed Abbas Araghchi Via On u ka on X In a public statement , Araghchi said a “vast majority of the British people do not want any part” in what he described as a U.S.–Israel war on Iran, and accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of “ignoring his own people” while “putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran.” He added that “Iran will exercise its right to self-defense,” signalling that Tehran views the decision as a direct security threat. The warning comes hours after Downing Street confirmed that U.S. forces would be allowed to use British bases for “defensive operations” to degrade missile site...