International Relations
Bilateral ties, multilateral forums, treaties and India's foreign policy
PM Modi speaks to Nepal leaders Rabi Lamichhane, Balendra Shah
PM Modi held telephonic conversations with Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and Balendra Shah, the party's Prime Minister-des...
Lebanon Seeks Direct Talks With Israel to End Hezbollah Fighting
On March 9, 2026, Lebanon called for direct talks with Israel on "permanent arrangements for security and stability" along its borders — an unprecedented dip...
India must tap FTA opportunities: Piyush Goyal
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal called on Indian businesses to proactively capitalise on the wave of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) being operation...
India evacuates 67,000 nationals amid West Asia crisis; Jaishankar calls Gulf tensions 'a matter of particular concern'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed the Rajya Sabha that India has successfully repatriated approximately 67,000 nationals from West Asia since t...
Watch: How Iran is fighting back against U.S. and Israel
One week after the US and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, Iran intensified its multi-layered military response across West Asi...
Oil crosses $100: Amid escalating Iran war, supply security bigger priority for India than price
Brent crude oil crossed $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022, driven by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran following the onset of...
What new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s selection says about Iran’s plans for the war
Iran's Assembly of Experts selected Mojtaba Khamenei — son of assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — as the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic on...
Why desalination plants have become the latest focal point in West Asia war
Desalination plants in Bahrain and Iran were struck on March 7–8, 2026, as the Iran-Israel-US war escalated across the Gulf. Bahrain's interior ministry repo...
West Asia conflict strands Indian fruit exports at ports, airports
More than 1,250 shipping containers carrying Indian fruit exports were stuck at Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port) in Mumbai during peak Ramadan demand — th...
West Asia tensions pose twin challenges for Indian paper industry
The ongoing West Asia conflict has created a "twin challenge" for India's paper industry: a disruption to export markets (West Asia absorbs approximately 30%...
Oil prices surging past $115 amid Iran-Israel war revives memories of historical global oil crises
Oil prices surged past $115 per barrel by March 9, 2026, as the escalating US-Israel-Iran war disrupted global energy supply chains. Cornell University histo...
India offered sanctuary to Iranian ship three days before US sank it
Three Iranian warships — IRIS Dena, IRIS Bushehr, and IRIS Lavan — participated in a joint military exercise hosted by India at Visakhapatnam between 15 and ...
Oil prices hit highest since 2022 at more than $119 a barrel on Iran war
Brent crude oil prices surged above $119 per barrel on March 9, 2026, the highest level since mid-2022, as the US-Israel war on Iran threatened both producti...
India and Indonesia finalise BrahMos deal, contract to be signed early next fiscal
India and Indonesia have finalised negotiations for the export of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, with the formal contract expected to be signed in the f...
Energy security, trade flows, safety of nationals paramount factors in West Asia strategy: Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar articulated India's three-pronged West Asia policy framework in Parliament: (1) maintaining energy security, (2) preserv...
Iran conflict forces Asian central banks into sharp policy rethink
The escalating US-Israel-Iran conflict and the resulting surge in global oil prices above $100 per barrel are compelling central banks across Asia to fundame...
Watch: From cleric’s son to Iran’s supreme leader: The story of Mojtaba Khamenei
Iran's Assembly of Experts announced on March 8, 2026, the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei — son of assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — as Iran's new Su...
Anthropic sues Trump administration seeking to undo ‘supply chain risk’ designation
Anthropic, a leading US AI safety company and maker of the Claude AI model, filed two federal lawsuits against the Trump administration on March 9, 2026, aft...
Sri Lanka to grant one month visas to distressed Iranian sailors: Minister
Sri Lanka announced it would grant one-month gratis (free) visas to Iranian sailors rescued from vessels targeted by the United States in the Indian Ocean, o...
Nepal gets its youngest PM with a brute majority in Parliament. What comes next
Balendra Shah (Balen Shah), 35, a structural engineer and former rapper, was sworn in as Nepal's youngest Prime Minister on March 27, 2026, after his Rastriy...