In Operation ‘True Promise (va’de-ye sādeq)-I, Iran retaliated against Israel proper on April 14, 2025, firing missile/drone barrage from Iran proper. Now, since February 28, 2026, ‘True Promise-4’ is underway in response to the joint US-Israeli attack. The euphoria of quick victory over Tehran after the killing of Khamenei on the first day of Operation […]
The wartime assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei in a US-backed Israeli attack in Iran has produced a significant surge of emotion in many parts of the world, including Pakistan. As a historian, it is no part of my vocation to romanticise any government in the world, including that of Iran. Governments are […]
As the Iran-Israel-US war reshapes the Middle East, Pakistan finds itself staring down a healthcare emergency largely of its own making. The ongoing conflict has disrupted Pakistan’s imports of life-saving medicines, pharmaceutical raw materials and baby formula due to the suspension of international flights. The consequences for ordinary Pakistanis who are already crushed by inflation […]
Aristotle once described hope as a waking dream. Friedrich Nietzsche warned that hope can prolong suffering. Centuries later, Vaclav Havel offered a quieter definition. Hope, he said, is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. Across history, hope has been […]
Central government debt rose by over Rs7 trillion in the last calendar year, representing an unsustainable increase of almost 10%. The unchecked pace of increase should alarm every Pakistani because, regardless of any rosy promises by politicians, the hard numbers show that the state is becoming less economically viable for coming generations. Our parents grew […]
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia sharply increased oil production in February ahead of US and Israeli strikes on Iran and kept its forecasts for relatively strong global oil demand growth this year. Saudi Arabia boosted output and exports as part of a contingency plan in case […]
As many as 150 United States troops have been wounded in the 10-day-old war with Iran, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The casualty figure has not been previously reported. Prior to Reuters’ publication of the figure, the Pentagon had only disclosed eight US personnel seriously injured. In a statement after […]
At least 17 United States military, diplomatic and air defence sites across the Middle East have been damaged by Iranian drone and missile strikes since the start of the conflict in the region, a New York Times analysis found on Wednesday. The report said Iran responded to the US-Israeli assaults by targeting American installations across the […]
Citigroup and Standard Chartered have begun evacuating their Dubai offices, telling staff to work from home instead, sources said on Wednesday, as banks step up precautions after Iran threatened Gulf banking interests linked to the United States and Israel. US financial giant Citigroup told its staff to evacuate offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) […]
A preliminary US military investigation has concluded that a Tomahawk missile strike that hit an elementary school in southern Iran last month, killing dozens of girls, was the result of a targeting error by the United States, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing officials familiar with the inquiry. The February 28 strike destroyed […]