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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...

The United Kingdom has formally agreed to allow the United States to use British military bases for operations targeting Iranian missile capabilities threatening commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz , while maintaining that it will not directly join the strikes, according to a statement issued by 10 Downing Street after a ministerial meeting on Friday. Representational Image Via U.S. Central Command In a detailed readout, the Prime Minister’s Office said ministers “confirmed that the agreement for the U.S. to use U.K. bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes U.S. defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz ,” explicitly linking the expanded scope of cooperation to Iran’s recent targeting of maritime traffic and energy infrastructure. The decision marks a significant escalation in London’s operational posture, allowing U.S. forces to launch strikes on Iranian missile systems and related...

Indian officials on Friday stated that nearly 300,000 passengers have returned from West Asia since February 28, 913 Indian nationals have crossed from Iran into Armenia and Azerbaijan with embassy assistance, and 22 Indian-flagged vessels carrying 611 Indian seafarers remain safe in the Persian Gulf. These developments have emerged as New Delhi responded to a fresh Indian death in Riyadh, tightened aviation risk advisories, and expanded its multi-ministerial effort to manage the widening fallout of the Iran war across energy, shipping and civilian movement. Petroleum Secretary Sujata Sharma; Screengrab Via: TBS World Now on X At an inter-ministerial briefing in New Delhi , senior officials from the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and External Affairs laid out India’s latest assessment of the crisis, while the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a clarification saying it had now circulated six safety advisories to Indian operators o...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman India’s LNG import architecture has been hit by a major disruption that could last three to five years as 47% of its LNG imports sourced from Qatar are now exposed to prolonged supply shocks after missile strikes have cut Qatar’s export capacity by 17% , caused an estimated $20 billion in annual losses , and forced the declaration of force majeure on long-term contracts . File Photo of the Russian LNG tanker Arctic Metagaz, which suffered a massive explosion in the Mediterranean earlier this month; Via: OpenSourceIntel An IndianRepublic.in analysis of official disclosures issued within hours by New Delhi and Doha on Thursday points to a widening policy gap, with the Government of India yet to articulate a detailed procurement roadmap, volume replacement strategy or cost framework , stating only that it will pursue diversification without specifying how much supply will be sourced, from where, and at what e...