The outbreak of war in Iran demonstrates the critical importance of air defence systems, as the country’s leadership was eliminated during the initial strikes and its ability to coordinate defence collapsed within hours. Equally important, the conflict highlights the asymmetric power of drones. Iran used its drone arsenal to strike targets across the Gulf, hitting Bahrain, Kuwait, and Dubai, while Israel’s Iron Dome continued to show the value of a layered defensive architecture, although it also revealed certain limitations
Category: Analysis
Churchill’s Oil vs. Modi’s LPG: What WW2 tells us about Energy
There is a temptation, watching India’s LPG crisis unfold in March 2026, to invoke the Second World War as a counterpoint, an era when civilisation itself was at stake, yet somehow, fuel still moved, kitchens still burned, and industrial supply chains held together well enough to sustain a global war effort. The comparison is emotionally satisfying. It is also, at first glance, historically plausible. But the data tells a more complicated and ultimately more instructive story
While the Missiles Fall, Beijing Watches and Learns
The public record on China’s response to the Iran war is clear and unremarkable. Since US and Israeli forces launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28, Beijing has condemned the strikes as violations of international law, called for an immediate ceasefire, and dispatched Special Envoy Zhai Jun to the region. It has evacuated over 3,000 Chinese citizens from Iran. Foreign Minister Wang Yi has made calls to counterparts in Russia, Iran, Oman, France, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
The 2026 India-US Trade Reset and the Future of the Indo-Pacific
The India-US relationship came to a standstill during the Trump 2.0 administration, with skyrocketing tariffs up to 50 percent since August 2025, creating an economic burden on India. Within the unpredictable geopolitical environment, the interim trade agreement between India and the United States finally came to terms in February 2026, but the recent ruling of the US Supreme Court brought the deal to a halt. The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, ruling that he cannot use the 1977 emergency powers law to slap blanket duties on nearly every country.
NATO’s Most Dangerous Member Just Got More Dangerous
When the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, every NATO member was forced to decide where it stood. Most followed Washington’s lead quietly, if not enthusiastically. Spain refused use of its bases and triggered a furious response from the White House. France and Germany called for restraint. Turkey reacted in a way that was more complex than the other countries. It condemned the strikes as a violation of international law and blocked coalition forces from using its airspace and bases. When Iran’s Supreme Leader was assassinated, Turkey publicly mourned the loss
The Four Fault Lines the Iran War just Cracked Open in Pakistan
When the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran on February 28, 2026, every country in the region was forced to pick a lane. Most found one, if only rhetorically. The Gulf states condemned Iran’s retaliatory missile barrages on their soil. China called for restraint and dispatched an envoy. Turkey blocked use of its airspace. India said nothing, and meant it. Pakistan could not afford to say nothing. And it could not afford to say something.
Was the Sinking of IRIS Dena by the United States a War Crime?
At 5:08 in the morning of March 4, 2026, a distress call crackled out from a position roughly 40 nautical miles south of Galle, Sri Lanka. By the time Sri Lankan naval vessels reached the coordinates, IRIS Dena, an Iranian Moudge-class frigate, commissioned in 2021, carrying approximately 180 sailors had already vanished beneath the Indian Ocean. What remained were spreading oil slicks, floating debris, and men treading water far from shore. The US government later confirmed, with apparent pride, that one of its nuclear-powered attack submarines had fired a single Mark 48 torpedo at the vessel.
Taiwan Didn’t Just Survive Isolation. It Turned it into Leverage
Taiwan sits at the centre of one of the defining geopolitical contests of our time. As the United States and China compete over semiconductors, artificial intelligence and critical supply chains, a self-governed island of 23 million people has become strategically indispensable. Yet Taiwan’s influence was not an accident of geography. It was built deliberately under conditions of diplomatic isolation. Since 1971, when UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 transferred China’s seat from Taipei to Beijing, Taiwan has existed in political ambiguity
After Khamenei: Iran’s Uncertain Path to a New Supreme Leader
The death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would represent one of the most consequential political turning points in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, Khamenei has served as the central authority within Iran’s political system. The Supreme Leader holds ultimate control over the military, the judiciary, intelligence services, and nuclear policy, making the position the most powerful office in the country. With Khamenei gone, Iran would face an uncertain leadership transition that could reshape both its domestic political order and its regional strategy
Is Modern Industrial Policy a Return to Mercantilism?
In the post-Cold War decades, globalisation developed along a distinctly liberal economic logic. The US-led multilateral trade regime was conceived essentially as a framework under which open markets, comparative advantage, and multilateral trade would lead to prosperity and stability. Production networks extended beyond borders, but this process was driven by cost efficiency and market rationalisation, not strategic government direction.