Israel Iran Conflict

India's Russian oil purchases helping stabilise markets: US ambassador

US Ambassador Sergio Gor said India's ongoing Russian oil purchases are helping stabilise global oil markets amid volatility triggered by the escalating West Asia conflict

Bank stocks fall as Iran war fuels inflation fears, Nifty Bank drops 2%

Banking stocks witnessed a sharp decline today as West Asia conflict raised oil-linked inflation risks. Nifty Bank index fell 1.8 per cent on the NSE led by Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank

Speculation rises over Iran's new Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei's health

Speculation over the health of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei grew Wednesday after the son of Iran's president mentioned hearing news about him "being injured". Mojtaba, 56, is the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He long has been a secretive figure within Iran. His father and wife both were killed in an Israeli airstrike Feb 28 that started the war. Mojtaba has not been seen since, nor has he given any statement since becoming supreme leader on Monday. In an overnight post on the app Telegram, Yousef Pezeshkian, the son of President Masoud Pezeshkian, wrote: "I heard news about Mr Mojtaba being injured. I asked friends who were in contact. They said, thank God, he is healthy and there is no problem." He did not elaborate.

Why Reliance's Jamnagar refinery makes it key to Trump's Texas oil plan

Trump announced a Texas refinery with investment from Reliance, the first such US project in 50 years. Jamnagar's world-leading Nelson Complexity Index may explain why RIL was chosen

How a 1953 CIA-backed coup set Iran and the US on today's collision course

Today's Iran-US confrontation traces back to a Cold War coup, oil politics and the 1979 revolution that transformed a strategic partnership into one of the world's longest geopolitical rivalries

India, Bangladesh urea firms shut operations as war disrupts LNG flow

LNG is the primary feedstock for urea production, serving as an energy source and a key input in making the world's most widely used fertilizer

Cargo ship ablaze in Hormuz after being hit by projectile: British military

A projectile hit a cargo ship Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, setting the vessel ablaze after the United States targeted Iranian minelaying vessels that could target the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, run by the British military, said the vessel had been hit just north of Oman in the strait. It said the crew was evacuating the ship. Iran did not immediately claim the attack though it has been targeting ships in and around the strait, disrupting a waterway that sees a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded pass through it. The UKMTO earlier reported on another attack targeting a vessel off Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.

Uttarakhand prepares firewood supply for businesses amid LPG shortage

Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and the resulting disruption in gas supplies, the Uttarakhand government has begun preparations to provide firewood for commercial use if required. Uttarakhand Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal said the current situation resembles a crisis scenario. "With war-like conditions prevailing in several Middle Eastern countries, a shortage of gas cannot be ruled out," he said. To address the situation, instructions have been issued to the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation to ensure the availability of wood so that businesses can use it as an alternative fuel in case the gas shortage worsens. The government on Tuesday rejigged the allocation of LPG production, CNG, and piped cooking gas, which will take precedence over all other sectors using natural gas to ensure an uninterrupted supply for households and transport sectors. As the widening West Asia conflict disrupted 30 per cent of India's gas supply, the oil ministry, in a gazette ...

Iran targets oil infrastructure as concerns of global energy crisis grow

Israel and Iran exchanged fire early Wednesday as Tehran kept up its pressure on the region's oil industry, hitting a ship in the Strait of Hormuz and targeting infrastructure as concerns grew of a global energy crisis. Iran has effectively stopped shipping traffic through the narrow strait off its coast, through which about a fifth of the world's oil is shipped from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean. It has also been targeting oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations as part of a strategy that appeared to be aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end their strikes. Early Wednesday, Kuwait said its defences had downed eight Iranian drones over the oil-rich nation and Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted five drones heading toward the kingdom's vast Shaybah oil field. A projectile hit a container ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Strait of Hormuz. The United Nations Security Council was to vote la

FPI holdings in FAR G-Secs fall ₹4,634 cr as West Asia war rattles markets

Foreign portfolio investors' (FPI) bets in Fully Accessible Route (FAR) government securities have declined by about Rs 4,634 crore since the start of the Middle East conflict, reflecting growing caution among overseas investors amid rising crude oil prices, a weakening rupee and rising bond yields. Data from the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL) showed that total FPI investment in FAR securities stood at about Rs 3.26 lakh crore on Tuesday, down from Rs 3.31 lakh crore on February 27, before the conflict began. The selling pressure has emerged as global markets reacted sharply to escalating tensions in the Middle East, which have triggered a spike in crude oil prices and volatility in emerging market assets. Brent crude prices have surged past USD 100 per barrel and were trading around USD 108 per barrel, raising concerns about inflationary pressures and India's external balance. At the same time, the rupee weakened sharply to below 92 against the US dollar, while the ...

21 flights cancelled at Bengaluru airport due to airspace restrictions

A total of 21 flights were cancelled at Kempegowda International Airport on Wednesday due to airspace restrictions affecting services to several West Asian destinations, BIIAL said. In a statement, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which manages the airport, said that due to airspace restrictions on 11th March 2026, as many as 11 arrival flights and 10 departure flights were cancelled. The BIAL added that the cancellations primarily affected flights operating on key international sectors including Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Dubai and Doha, which witnessed disruptions due to the airspace curbs.

Hezbollah faces rare criticism as fresh war with Israel displaces thousands

The Lebanese mother of two had just awakened to prepare the pre-dawn meal before another day of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when Israeli warplanes began attacking southern Lebanon in retaliation for rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah. The family quickly packed up and headed toward Beirut, seeking safety from another deadly war between Israel and Hezbollah. With tens of thousands of others fleeing on that March 2 day, the usually one-hour trip from the southern city of Nabatiyeh took 15 hours. "I am against giving pretexts to Israel," said the 45-year-old woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the Hezbollah supporters she lives among. "I am totally against Hezbollah's decision to start with the first strike," said the woman, who is now living with her husband, their 17- and 12-year-old children, and her mother-in-law inside a school turned into a shelter in the Lebanese capital. As Hezbollah enters a new round of fighting with

UN warns of higher food prices, cost-of-living if Strait of Hormuz shuts

The United Nations has warned of significant risks to global trade and development, including higher food prices and cost-of-living, if the Strait of Hormuz is closed amid the West Asia conflict. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report Tuesday that the ongoing military escalation in the region due to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliation by Tehran has disrupted shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints. The narrow passage carries around a quarter of global seaborne oil trade and significant volumes of liquefied natural gas and fertilisers. "The resulting ripple effects go far beyond the region, affecting energy markets, maritime transport and global supply chains," the report said. "Higher energy, fertiliser and transport costs including freight rates, bunker fuel prices and insurance premiums may increase food costs and intensify cost-of-living pressures, particularly for the most ...

From Karbala to Iran: How Shia Islam has evolved across centuries

From the dispute over Ali's succession to the legacy of Karbala, here is how Shia Islam evolved, what its core beliefs are, and where Shia communities are found today

West Asia war updates: India says no fuel shortage; Trump warns on Hormuz

India said there is no fuel shortage; oil prices remained volatile as Donald Trump warned Iran against mining the Strait of Hormuz. Here are the top updates at 9 am (IST)

IEA floats proposal for largest-ever oil release amid West Asia conflict

IEA members are considering a record release of oil from strategic reserves to stabilise global markets as the West Asia conflict disrupts supply and triggers sharp volatility in crude prices

Have temporarily allowed India to accept Russian oil at sea: White House

The US has "temporarily permitted" India to "accept" Russian oil already on ships in the sea to ensure energy supplies amid the conflict with Iran and the short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to Moscow, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said. President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the whole national security team "came to this decision because our allies in India have been good actors and have previously stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil", Leavitt told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday. "So as we work to appease this temporary gap of oil supply around the world because of the Iranians, we have temporarily permitted them (India) to accept that Russian oil. And this Russian oil was already at sea. It was already out on the water. So this short-term measure, we do not believe it will provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government at this time," she said. Leavitt was responding to a ...

US destroys 16 mine-laying vessels as Iran threatens to block oil exports

The US military said it took out multiple Iranian vessels on Tuesday as the Islamic Republic vowed to block the region's oil exports and concerns grew about the country's threats to stop tankers from using a waterway through which 20 per cent of the world's oil is shipped. The US destroyed 16 mine-laying Iranian vessels, though President Donald Trump said in social media posts that there were no reports of Iran planting explosives in the Strait of Hormuz. The American military released the figure, along with unclassified footage of some of the vessels, after Trump earlier warned Iran against laying mines in the strait. Both sides sharpened their rhetoric as the war entered its 11th day, with Trump threatening to hit Iran at "a level never seen before" if the country failed to immediately remove any mines it might have deployed in the channel. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth promised the most intense strikes yet, while the Pentagon detailed the broader toll of injuries sustained b

Iran, Russia foreign ministers discuss regional tensions over phone

They exchanged views on the evolving situation in West Asia and the broader consequences of the conflict for regional and international stability

About 1,000 Indians return from Qatar, embassy control room remains active

The Embassy thanked the authorities of Saudi Arabia and Qatar for their cooperation and said that its 24/7 Control Room remains functional, along with helplines and helpdesks