Explore Business Standard
Iran Nuclear Agreement
Iran's supreme leader vowed Thursday in a defiant tone to protect the Islamic Republic's nuclear and missile capabilities, which US President Donald Trump has sought to curtail through airstrikes and as part of a wider deal to cement the war's shaky ceasefire. In a statement read by a state television anchor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the only place Americans belonged in the Persian Gulf is "at the bottom of its waters" and that a "new chapter" was being written in the region's history. Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over as supreme leader following the killing of his father in the war's opening airstrikes. His remarks come as Iran's economy is reeling and its oil industry is being squeezed by a US Navy blockade halting its tankers from getting out to sea. The world economy is also under pressure as Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all crude oil is transported. On Thursday, the global benchmark for oil, Brent ...
The United States and Iran clashed over Tehran's nuclear programme as a review of the treaty meant to prevent the spread of atomic weapons got underway Monday at the United Nations, a confrontation almost certain to be repeated during the monthlong meeting. At issue was the election of Iran as one of 34 vice presidents of the conference, where 191 parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty are reviewing its implementation as they have done every five years since it took effect in 1970. Iran was a candidate of what has been dubbed the "nonaligned movement," made up of 121 mainly developing countries. Tensions over Tehran's nuclear programme escalated ahead of the Iran war, with President Donald Trump vowing to ensure the country cannot build an atomic weapon. Iran has enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels, but Tehran insists its programme is only for civilian purposes. The meeting began as Iran offered to reopen the Strait if Hormuz if the US lifted its blockade of Iran
Iran and Russia both allege a projectile struck the grounds of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the Islamic Republic, raising the spectre of a radiological incident as Tehran's war with Israel and the United States rages. Neither Iran nor Russia say there was any release of nuclear material in the incident on Tuesday, but it again underlines a longtime worry of Iran's neighbours - that the power plant on the shores of the Persian Gulf could be stricken by either an attack or an earthquake. Here's what to know about the incident, the plant itself and Iran's wider nuclear programme, which remains a reason US President Donald Trump points to for starting the war alongside Israel against Iran on Feb. 28. Reports of a projectile striking there ------------------------------------------- Russia's state-run Tass news agency quoted Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev late Tuesday as claiming "a strike hit the area adjacent to the metrology service building located at the Bushehr Nuclear Power
A wave of anxiety gripped several families here as they struggled to contact their loved ones, including students and Islamic scholars, living in Qom in Iran, which is under attack from the US and Israel. According to local sources, at least eight people from Barabanki are presently in Iran for religious studies. Those in Iran, include Maulana Zafar Abbas alias Faizi, Maulana Abid Husain Kazmi, Maulana Ali Mehdi Rizvi, Maulana Syed Kashimi Rizvi Zaidpuri, Fatima Rabab, Mohammad Raza, Mohammad Kazim, Maulana Faiz Bakri of Jauras and Maulana Ali Mehdi. Relatives said contact with some of them was established for a brief time, but was disrupted, heightening fears among families. Maulana Abbas Mehdi Sadaf said his elder brother, Maulana Zafar Abbas Faizi, is pursuing studies in Qom. "We spoke to him after the attack. He informed us that the strike occurred near the border of Qom. He said the situation was under control and civilians were moving normally on the streets," Sadaf ...
The Congress on Sunday said the government's response to the war unleashed on Iran has been a betrayal of India's values, principles and interests, as it claimed that the nation is paying a heavy price for both the substance and style of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy. Taking a swipe at Modi, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said India's foreign policy under the "self-styled Vishwaguru" stands brutally exposed, notwithstanding all the grandstanding on it by the cheerleaders of the PM, led by himself. "Modi visited Israel on February 25-26, 2026, at a time when the entire world was aware that a US-Israel military attack on Iran for regime change was imminent. The assault began just two days after Mr. Modi left Israel where his speech to the Knesset was a display of shameful moral cowardice," Ramesh said on X. "The Modi government's response to the war unleashed on Iran that has involved targeted assassinations has been a betrayal of ...
Iran's chief of army staff and defence minister were killed in an airstrike targeting a meeting of the country's defence council, Iranian state television reported on Sunday. Gen. Abdol Rahim Mousavi and Defence Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh were killed at the meeting alongside the head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and security adviser Ali Shamkhani, whose deaths Iran previously announced Sunday morning.