Kyiv cathedral burns as Russian air raids intensify over Ukraine
Ukraine said Russia launched one of its heaviest air attacks in weeks overnight, with missiles and drones hitting Kyiv and other parts of the country. In the capital, the Dormition Cathedral in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex caught fire after what local authorities described as a direct hit. Officials also reported civilian deaths and injuries in Kyiv, while emergency crews worked through the morning to contain fires and assess damage.Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 70 missiles and 611 drones overnight, most of them aimed at Kyiv. It said air defences shot down 50 missiles and 582 drones. Officials said at... [Continue Reading]
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US-Iran peace deal announced as Strait of Hormuz set to reopen amid ceasefire talks
The United States and Iran have announced a peace framework that would end their war, lift the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The announcement was made after days of conflicting signals from the two sides, with Pakistan's prime minister saying the agreement had been reached and that a signing ceremony would take place in Switzerland on Friday. The deal is being presented as an immediate halt to military operations, including in Lebanon, although the wider terms still appear to be under discussion.US President Donald Trump said the agreement with Iran was complete and... [Continue Reading]
US and Iran ceasefire deal prospects sharpen as Gulf states review security plans
Washington and Tehran are moving towards a long-term ceasefire agreement, according to the latest reporting, with Donald Trump saying he had cancelled new strikes on Iran because a deal was imminent. A senior Iranian official, however, said a proposed memorandum of understanding with Washington was still under review, suggesting the process has not yet been completed. The developments are being watched closely across the Gulf, where states hosting US military facilities are expected to reassess their security arrangements if the war ends.The reported diplomatic push comes after Pakistan's prime minister said a final text had been reached, adding to signs... [Continue Reading]
Iran claims retaliatory strikes on US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain
Iran said it carried out retaliatory strikes on US military targets in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain after recent American attacks on Iranian targets. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched two waves of operations and claimed to have hit 18 US military targets in Kuwait and Bahrain, including sites it identified as Ali and Ahmad Ahmad air force bases. It also said it struck and destroyed Sheikh Isa air base, while separately claiming it fired 12 ballistic missiles at the US command centre at Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan.The claims were made on Thursday, June 11, and were carried... [Continue Reading]
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India defends Great Nicobar mega-project as strategic maritime asset
India's proposed Great Nicobar Islands project is being defended by defence sources as a strategically important maritime and economic development near key international shipping routes. The Rs 81,000-crore plan includes an International Container Transshipment Port, a greenfield airfield, a Naval Air Station, a township and a power plant. It has drawn criticism from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who described it as a major scam and a grave crime against natural and tribal heritage.According to the defence sources, the project is intended to strengthen India's maritime posture in the Indo-Pacific and improve its ability to monitor sea lanes, support operations and... [Continue Reading]
Iran launches retaliatory air attack on Israel after Beirut suburb strike
Iran has said it launched an air attack on Israel in response to an Israeli strike on the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, in a sharp escalation that has widened the regional confrontation. The Iranian operation, named Nasr, was announced after several hours of exchanges of fire between the two sides. Iranian authorities said the attack was carried out from multiple cities, including Kermanshah in western Iran, and that it was intended to show offensive capability rather than simply absorb strikes and respond later.According to the supplied material, the Israeli strike on Dahiyeh targeted a command centre of Hezbollah, the Lebanese... [Continue Reading]
Iran, Israel and Houthi strikes raise pressure on fragile ceasefire
Iran and Israel have exchanged strikes in a renewed escalation that has put a fragile ceasefire under severe strain. The latest fighting unfolded overnight and into the day after Iran launched missiles at Tel Aviv, according to the supplied report. Israel then carried out its own offensive against Iran, while Yemen's Houthi rebels also launched strikes at Israel and threatened Israeli-affiliated vessels in the Red Sea.The report says Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps claimed a retaliatory attack on a petrochemical plant in northern Israel after Israeli strikes on what it described as several targets at an Iranian petrochemical facility. The... [Continue Reading]
Fear the Shia, Arm the Sunnis: The Uncomfortable Numbers Behind America’s War Narrative
“When fear is managed carefully enough, a nation can be taught to look away from the blood on the floor and stare instead at the shadow on the wall.” A friend of mine, whose name I will not reveal because he asked me not to, sat across from me over dinner and placed a question on the table that would not leave me alone. He was born into a Muslim Shia background, and for the angle of this article, that detail matters, not because I wish to reduce a man to a sect, but because sect has become one of... [Continue Reading]
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The Mirage of the Umbrella: The Shifting Sands of the U.S.-Israel-GCC Alliance
As I sat in a recent debate at the historic Carlton Club in London, listening to Faisal Abbas, the Editor-in-Chief of Arab News, I felt a tangible shift in the room, not because a new fact had been revealed, but because an old illusion had finally lost its last breath. The old-world order has not merely changed, it has evaporated, leaving the Gulf to realize it is no longer watching a distant fire from the safety of marble towers and air-conditioned ministries, but is instead standing directly inside the smoke. The GCC today is caught in a lethal crossfire between... [Continue Reading]
The Madness of Power, From Balfour to the Edge of World War Three
A Voice in the Wilderness of War: Who Still Dares to Speak Truth While Empires March There are moments in history when the world suddenly accelerates toward disaster, moments when anyone who has studied history can feel the temperature rising even before the explosions reach their peak. The current escalation in the Middle East is one of those moments. According to the facts we now see unfolding, the United States and Israel made the unilateral decision to attack Iran without the approval of the United Nations, without a global coalition mandate, and without the support of most of the international... [Continue Reading]
Shadows of Fire: The Long Arc of Iran–United States Tensions
A Region on Edge: The Latest Escalation In recent months, tensions between Iran and the United States have intensified once again, fueled by disputes over regional security, nuclear development, maritime incidents in the Persian Gulf, and the broader strategic balance in the Middle East. Officials in Washington have expressed renewed concern over Iran’s uranium enrichment levels, while leaders in Tehran have accused the United States of economic warfare through sanctions and diplomatic isolation. The fragile equilibrium that followed earlier rounds of indirect negotiations appears increasingly strained, with both sides engaging in sharp rhetoric at the United Nations, reinforcing military postures... [Continue Reading]



