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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...

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...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi  has spoken with at least six global leaders across West Asia, Europe and Southeast Asia over the past 24 hours. This comes at a time when India is intensifying diplomatic push for de-escalation, protection of energy infrastructure, and uninterrupted global trade flows as the Iran war expands into critical economic systems. File Photo of PM NaMo with French Prez Macron; Via: PMO In a series of coordinated calls, Modi engaged with King Abdullah II, Emmanuel Macron, Anwar Ibrahim, and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, in addition to his earlier outreach to Kuwait’s leadership. This showed India's a multi-vector diplomatic effort aimed at stabilising a conflict now directly threatening energy supply chains and maritime routes. With Jordan’s King Abdullah II , Modi “expressed concern at the evolving situation in West Asia” and “highlighted the need for dialogue and diplomacy for the early restoration of peace, security and stability,” while warning that “at...

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has explicitly identified India’s evolving nuclear capabilities as part of a broader global expansion of strategic weapons, stating in its 2026 Annual Threat Assessment that “India also is developing new and longer-range nuclear delivery systems,” placing New Delhi within a cohort of states advancing range, survivability and deterrence options. File Photo of Indian Navy’s successful precision strike in the Arabian Sea by ship launched BrahMos missile The report situates India’s nuclear trajectory within a shifting deterrence landscape where delivery systems, not just warhead counts, are becoming central. (Page 18) It warns that adversaries are “research[ing], develop[ing], and field[ing] delivery systems that will increase their ranges and accuracy, challenge U.S. missile defenses, and provide new WMD-use options”. T his formulation has directly framed India’s advancements alongside those of China, Russia and Pakistan. At the regio...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman India’s tryst with the West Asia crisis on Thursday completely ceased to be a question of distant war and became, more clearly than before, a test of state capacity, diplomatic balance and political credibility at home. The day’s developments showed a government trying to hold together three fronts at once. Keeping Indian citizens and seafarers alive in an active war zone, preventing a shipping and fuel shock from cascading into panic inside India, and preserving enough diplomatic space to speak to all sides while the conflict itself grows more dangerous and less predictable. Representational Image/File Photo Via Mayank Austen Soofi, @thedelhiwalla on X That larger picture sharpened as Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and made India’s position unusually explicit. As IndianRepublic.in reported , Modi said the safety and security of Indian nationals, along with “the need for unhi...

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...

India told Parliament on Monday that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable path to de-escalate the widening war in West Asia, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar warning that the conflict poses serious risks to global energy flows , shipping routes and the safety of millions of Indians living in the Gulf region. Addressing both the hoses of the Parliament separately amid loud protests from opposition benches, Jaishankar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was closely monitoring developments while multiple ministries were coordinating responses to the fast-evolving security situation in the Middle East. Image Source: ANI Screengrab of Sansad TV on X “Our government had issued a statement expressing deep concern and urging all sides to exercise restraint,” Jaishankar said . “We continue to believe that dialogue and diplomacy should be pursued to de-escalate the tensions.” The minister said stability in West Asia remained vital for India’s economic interests, given th...

India’s Parliament reconvenes on Monday under the shadow of a widening war in West Asia, with External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar scheduled to brief the Lok Sabha on the fast-evolving war between Iran, Israel, and the United States. According to the revised list of business circulated on Sunday evening, EAM Jaishankar will make an official statement in the Lower House on the situation in West Asia when the second half of the Budget Session begins.  Sansad TV Screengrab of EAM Jaishankar by ANI The announcement comes amid mounting concern in New Delhi over the safety of Indian nationals across the Gulf and wider West Asian region as military strikes and retaliatory missile attacks continue to escalate. The Ministry of External Affairs earlier said the government has already facilitated the return of more than 52,000 Indians between March 1 and March 7 after partial reopening of regional airspace. Commercial and special flights have been operating to bring stranded tr...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman The widening war involving the United States, Israel and Iran  has marched from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and  has now begun to unfold within India’s extended strategic neighbourhood. The sinking of an Iranian naval vessel near Sri Lanka, missile exchanges across the Gulf, disruptions to energy flows and airspace closures across major aviation hubs have all brought the conflict closer to India’s economic and security periphery. In moments like these, there is always a temptation for countries to claim the moral high ground or issue strong declaratory positions. But for India, the wiser path may lie in something quieter b u t strategically more consequential. Restraint, Vigilance and the careful use of Multilateral Diplomacy.  So far, New Delhi appears to have largely followed that course. File Photo: EAM Jaishankar India’s response to the crisis has been marked less by rhetoric and more by calibra...