France’s surprise veto with Russia and China exposes a fraying Western consensus, raising awkward questions about NATO’s future. For seven decades, the choreography of great-power diplomacy has been comfortingly predictable: when push came to shove at the United Nations, France stood with the United States and United Kingdom, balancing the habitual dissent of Russia and China. That symmetry has now been disrupted. In a jarring diplomatic turn, France recently joined Russia an

Trump’s Hormuz blockade seeks to weaponize a chokepoint that history shows is far easier to disrupt than to control. Across centuries, for rulers and states alike, to command a narrow strait has been to wield power far out of proportion to its geography. From the Hellespont of antiquity to the Danish Sound, chokepoints have tempted them with the promise of effortless leverage. The Strait of Hormuz is the latest test of that enduring illusion. If the latest stream of conflicti

Amid war-driven oil shocks and a weakening rupee, the RBI opts for caution and reform. India delivered a strong performance in 2025, with growth estimated at 7.6 percent and inflation contained at 1.95 percent, setting the stage for continued momentum into 2026. Benefiting from a ‘Goldilocks’ mix of robust growth and subdued inflation, the government presented a budget focused on long-term stability rather than short-term stimulus. Following last year’s front-loaded rate cut,

When sections of India’s self-anointed ‘liberal’ media cheer Pakistan’s fleeting diplomatic theatre, they reveal less about geopolitics than about their own reflexes. There is a peculiar reflex that grips a section of India’s self-styled ‘liberal’ media whenever the world tilts even slightly against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government. It is not analysis, not even contrarianism in the noble sense, but a barely concealed thrill - an instinct to diminish India’s

A fragile pause between Iran, Israel and America exposes the widening gap between diplomatic signalling and military reality. By definition, a ceasefire is a temporary suspension of hostilities. In practice, it is often something murkier: a tactical pause, a diplomatic fig leaf or worse, a convenient illusion. The ceasefire announced on April 7 between Iran, Israel and the United States appears to belong firmly in this latter category. Less a bridge to peace than a pause preg

If diplomacy is theatre, then the recently collapsed US–Iran talks in Islamabad was an elaborate farce staged with all the solemnity of statecraft but none of its credibility. After 21 hours of marathon discussions, the outcome was as predictable as it was embarrassing with no agreement or breakthrough achieved, and no illusions left intact. Except, perhaps, among those still inclined to believe that Pakistan could ever serve as an ‘honest broker.’ But the fact that the talks

For a country that still depends on the monsoon, India has grown surprisingly dependent on the Middle East. Not for rain, but for the fuel and fertilizers that keep its farms running. In an era of proliferating conflicts, especially the chronic instability across West Asia as evinced by the Iran conflict, that dependence is proving costly. The connection between geopolitics and the price of tomatoes in Pune is no longer abstract. When tensions flare in the Gulf, crude prices

For a man who relishes brinkmanship, US President Donald Trump has increasingly begun to resemble a pyromaniac with a fire extinguisher, lighting crises only to theatrically douse them. His latest performance, announcing a ceasefire to pause the ongoing Iran conflict, bears ample testament to this phenomenon. Within the span of a single day, Trump threatened to annihilate Iranian civilian infrastructure by warning that “a whole civilisation will die” before pivoting, scarcely

The decisive story of the 21st century is currently unfolding in the Persian Gulf. What was seen as another flare up between the US, Israel, and Iran has caused a structural shift in international relations. This conflict signals the weakening of the US dominated unipolar order and the rise of a fragmented, multipolar world. In this new landscape, power is measured less by military dominance than by energy security, strategic independence, and industrial strength. Iran’s 1979

In the world’s most vital oil chokepoint, the elegant certainties of maritime law dissolve into a murky contest of power, risk and coercion. The Strait of Hormuz is, in the dry language of international law, a “strait used for international navigation.” In the less sterile vocabulary of geopolitics, it is a loaded gun pointed at the global economy. Barely 21 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point, this corridor connects the oil-rich Persian Gulf to the wider Arabian Sea.

Iran’s multi-front strategy of blending proxies, cyberattacks and economic pressure shows how hybrid warfare is emerging as a complex challenge for international security. Sometime last month, four ambulances engaged in humanitarian service were set ablaze on the streets of North London. These vehicles belonged to a Jewish volunteer organization dedicated to saving lives in medical emergencies, without discrimination of religion or race. The very next day, in Bahrain, an Iran

Mr. President, History has a quiet way of asking uncomfortable questions. It does not shout. It observes. And then, years later, it decides. What makes a leader endure in its memory? Is it the wars he wages, or the wars he prevents? Is it the force of command, or the wisdom of restraint? When the world stands at the edge of uncertainty, does true strength lie in action, or in the courage to pause? The Gulf today is a fragile crossroads of humanity’s future. The rising smoke f

Conflict-driven inflation acts like a silent tax, quietly reducing the purchasing power of every Indian household. When conflicts erupt across the globe, most Indians follow the news for geopolitical updates. But the real impact is felt much closer to home — in rising petrol prices, costlier groceries and shrinking monthly savings. This is conflict-driven inflation, a silent tax that affects every household without any official announcement. India imports more than 85 per cen

The ongoing Iran conflict is a systemic shock that exposes how fragile the world economy becomes when chokepoints close and diplomacy fails. “ Arthasya mūlam karma ,” wrote Kautilya, wealth is the root of all human endeavour. It is a maxim that has outlived empires, surviving the churn of kingdoms, colonies and modern nation-states. But the present moment suggests a grim inversion of that wisdom. The engines of wealth in form of trade, energy and cooperation are being throttl

Amid the Iran crisis, India’s quiet convoy war in the much-contested Strait reveals a maturing maritime power. Few bottlenecks are more consequential today than the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow maritime hinge through which a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and vast volumes of gas must pass. Weeks into the escalating Iran–Israel–United States conflict, traffic through Hormuz has slowed to a trickle, as insurers have recoiled and prices have lurched upward. For energy-impor

From the Øresund to the Dardanelles, chokepoints have imposed prolonged conflict and heavy costs on those who seek to command them. Gallipoli landings, 1915. With Washington mired in a strategic cul-de-sac in Iran with no evident off-ramp, there has been frenzied speculation in the past few days of President Donald Trump and the Pentagon mulling weeks-long ground operations, including raids on Kharg Island and Iranian coastal positions abutting the Strait of Hormuz. Kharg, ly

India’s dependence on West Asian fertiliser routes has turned the Iran war into a domestic agricultural risk. When geopolitics intrudes upon agriculture, the consequences are measured in delayed sowing, rising costs and anxious farmers scanning uncertain skies. With no sign of the ongoing Iran war receding anytime soon, the prospect of a prolonged disruption in fertiliser supply, particularly through the narrow maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz, poses a tangible thr

The ongoing tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran are more than a routine geopolitical crisis; they offer a clear view of how power operates in the international system. For India, this moment provides a sobering perspective. While the country increasingly speaks of its role as a “Vishwaguru” (global guide), the reality is more measured-India continues to function as a middle power, adapting to global shifts rather than directing them. A key reason lies in Ind

Donald Trump likes to claim he has already “won” the war with Iran. The trouble is that no one, least of all his own administration, seems quite sure what that victory means while his European allies are tuning him out. Barely a month into a conflict that began with joint American and Israeli strikes on February 28, the White House has offered a masterclass in inconsistency. At various points, Trump has said the war would last “four to five weeks,” could go on “far longer” an

With the war in West Asia choking the Strait of Hormuz, India’s economic resilience is tested by energy, its deepest structural dependency. The dawn of 2026 brought optimism for India’s economy, with the EU trade deal finalized, a stable Union Budget, and U.S. tariffs cut from 50 percent to 18 percent, easing fiscal pressures and allowing the RBI to hold rates steady. This momentum was abruptly derailed as tensions between the U.S., Israel, and Iran escalated into direct mili