Articles

In one of its recent meetings, the United Nations Security Council refused to buy Pakistan’s position on the Pahalgam terrorist attack which prompted India to launch Operation Sindoor. The meeting was attended by the five permanent members as well ....

June 05, 2025 International Relations and Diplomacy , Article , UNHRC , Gaza , Hamas , Antonio Guterres , Fatah , 26/11 Mumbai attacks , Daniel Gordis

West Asia Roundup : April 2025

Abstract

As the Israel-Hamas war of 20 months saw no respite, Saudi Arabia emerged as the major custodian of the Palestine Cause and the Two-State solution. Saudi FM reiterated Kingdom’s rejection of displacement of Palestinians while spe....

May 19, 2025 Saudi Arabia , Egypt , NSA , Gaza , France , West Asia Round Up , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Neighborhood News Digest - 01 April 2025

Afghanistan

Ünal: Billions Invested in Afghanistan's Mining and Energy-Tolo News

Cenk Ünal, the Turkish ambassador to Kabul, told TOLO news that Turkish investors have invested billions of dollars in Afghanistan, particularl....

April 01, 2025 VIF Neighbourhood News Digest , Pakistan , Maldives , Myanmar , Afghanistan , Bhutan , Turkey , Imran Khan , Gaza , Switzerland , nobel peace prize , Eco-tourism , Non-Muslims , Royal Securities Exchange of Bhutan Limited , RSEBL , Unclaimed Dividends , Zakat al-Fitr , Earthquake.

West Asia Roundup: September 2024

Abstract:

Not only the world remained on tenterhooks with the fears of escalation in West Asia but also witnessed the Israeli focus shift to Hezbollah and Lebanon as the next ‘destination destruction’. Hezbollah has committedly suppo....

October 25, 2024 West Asia , Gaza , UNGA , Hezbollah , West Asia Round Up

Israel and the HHH- War of Attrition and Revenge

Amb Anil Trigunayat, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Commentary

July 31 was the casting date for a much-feared escalation in the Middle East as Israeli leadership acknowledged killing of the Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr (July 30) but keeping enigmatic silence on the killing of the Hamas top leader and negotiator ....

August 28, 2024 International Relations and Diplomacy , West Asia , Commentary , Israel , Gaza , Houthis , Netanyahu , Hezbollah , Biden , Hamas , Ismael Haniyeh

Assassination of Hamas Leader Haniyeh in Tehran

Amb D P Srivastava, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Commentary

Since the missile exchange between Israel and Iran in April last, the tensions in the region had subsided though the war in Gaza was simmering. There was some hope that Israel and Hamas were nearing a deal on hostage release and ceasefire. The target....

August 09, 2024 International Relations and Diplomacy , Commentary , Israel , Iran , Gaza , UN , Hezbollah , Hamas , Haniyeh , Palestine authority

Global Developments and Analysis: Weekly Monitor (08-14 July 2024)

Economic

China set for third plenum that could prove a ‘defining moment’ of Xi Jinping era

China’s ruling Communist Party will begin a key meeting on July 15 that may determine the country’s course for the next decade. T....

July 22, 2024 Indo-Pacific , Donald Trump , Japan , Gaza , Covid-19 International Daily Scan , Third Plenum , NATO Summit , China Sanctions , Ice Pact , Tumen River

Global Developments and Analysis: Weekly Monitor (10-16 June)

Economic

Gold harder to find – industry body

The gold mining industry is struggling to maintain production growth as finding deposits of the yellow metal has become more difficult, according to the World Gold Council (WGC), ....

June 28, 2024 CPEC , Taliban , Gaza , Covid-19 International Daily Scan , Zelensky , Russian Gas , Unmanned Hellscape , China nuclear arsenal , Cyril Ramaphosa , Swiss Peace Conference

Hellfire from the Heavens – A Perspective on Contemporary Aerial Strikes

Air Marshal Diptendu Choudhury (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Article

Punitive response with the employment of air power is nothing new, and goes back to the British ‘watch and ward’ missions that the Indian Air Force undertook with the Royal Air Force in 1937, towards policing the recalcitrant tribes of Waziristan....

June 04, 2024 National Security and Strategic Studies , International Relations and Diplomacy , Article , Israel , Missiles , Iron Dome , Ukraine , Gaza , GPS , Air Power , Hamas , Drones , VKS , rockets , Electronic warfare , Katyusha rockets

Crisis in the Middle East

Amb D P Srivastava, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Article

The Gaza war has continued beyond seven months. Amidst stepped-up diplomatic efforts, the fate of the hostage deal continues to be uncertain. The US Secretary of State Blinken visited Saudi Arabia and Israel. Israeli forces have entered Rafah. There ....

May 20, 2024 International Relations and Diplomacy , Article , Israel , Iran , IRGC , Gaza , America , Hamas , hostages , Rafah