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Xi Has Spent Decades Preparing for a Cold War With the U.S.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is entering trade negotiations with a grand strategy inspired by his understanding of what the Soviet Union got wrong.
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India plans $230 million drone incentive after Pakistan conflict, sources say
By Sarita Chaganti Singh and Shivam Patel NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India will launch a $234 million incentive programme for civil and military drone makers to reduce their reliance on imported components and counter rival Pakistan's programme built on support from China and Turkey, three sources told Reuters. India's push to build more home-grown drones stems from its assessment of the four-day clash with Pakistan in May that marked the first time New Delhi and Islamabad utilized unmanned aerial vehicles at scale against each other. The nuclear-armed neighbours are now locked in a drones arms race. New Delhi will launch a 20 billion Indian rupees ($234 million) programme for three years that will cover manufacture of drones, components, software, counter drone systems, and services, two government and one industry source, who did not want to be named, told Reuters. Details of the programme have not been previously reported and its planned expenditure is higher than the modest 1.2 billion rupees production-linked incentive scheme New Delhi launched in 2021 to promote drone start-ups, which have struggled to raise capital and invest in research. India's civil aviation ministry, which is leading the incentives programme, and defence ministry did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment. Reuters previously reported that India plans to invest heavily in local industry and could spend as much as $470 million on unmanned aerial vehicles over the next 12 to 24 months, in what government and military officers said would be a staggered approach. In the past, India has mainly imported military drones from its third-largest arms supplier, Israel, but in recent years its nascent drone industry has scaled up its cost-effective offerings, including for the military, although reliance on China continues for certain components such as motors, sensors and imaging systems. Through the incentives, India is aiming to have at least 40% of key drone components made in the country by the end of fiscal year 2028 (April-March), the two government sources said. "During (the India-Pakistan) conflict there was quite a lot of use of drones, loitering munitions and kamikaze drones on both sides," Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said last week. "The lesson that we've learned is that we need to double down on our indigenisation efforts to ensure that we build a large, effective, military drone manufacturing ecosystem." India bans import of drones but not their components and the government has planned additional incentives for manufacturers that procure parts from within the country, the two government sources said. The state-run Small Industries Development Bank of India would also support the incentive programme by providing cheap loans for working capital, research and development needs for the firms, the government sources added. Currently, there are more than 600 drone manufacturing and associated companies in India, according to estimates shared by an industry source involved in the discussions for the incentives programme. ($1 = 85.5950 Indian rupees) Sign in to access your portfolio
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Iran regime escalates repression toward 'North Korea-style model of isolation and control'
In the wake of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, the regime appears to be turning inward — escalating repression with chilling speed. According to Kasra Aarabi, director of IRGC research at United Against Nuclear Iran, the Islamic Republic is accelerating toward what he said is a "North Korea-style model of isolation and control." "We're witnessing a kind of domestic isolation that will have major consequences for the Iranian people," Aarabi told Fox News Digital. "The regime has always been totalitarian, but the level of suppression now is unprecedented. It's unlike anything we've seen before." Saudi Defense Minister Secretly Meets With Trump To Discuss Iran De-escalation, Israel: Sources A source inside Iran confirmed to Fox News Digital that "the repression has become terrifying." Aarabi, who maintains direct lines of contact in Iran, described a country under siege by its own rulers. In Tehran, he described how citizens are stopped at random, their phones confiscated and searched. "If you have content deemed pro-Israel or mocking the regime, you disappear," he said. "People are now leaving their phones at home or deleting everything before they step outside." Read On The Fox News App This new wave of paranoia and fear, he explained, mirrors tactics seen in North Korea — where citizens vanish without explanation and information is tightly controlled. During the recent conflict, Iran's leadership imposed a total internet blackout to isolate the population, blocking Israeli evacuation alerts, and pushed propaganda that framed Israel as targeting civilians indiscriminately. "It was a perverse objective," Aarabi said, adding, "They deliberately cut communications to instill fear and manipulate public perception. For four days, not a single message went through. Even Israeli evacuation alerts didn't reach their targets." The regime's aim, he said, was twofold: to keep people off the streets and erode the surprising bond that had formed between Iranians and Israelis. "At the start of the war, many Iranians welcomed the strikes," Aarabi noted. "They knew Israel was targeting the IRGC — the very forces responsible for suppressing and killing their own people. But once the internet was cut and fear set in, some began to question what was happening." Dr. Afshon Ostovar, a leading Iran scholar and author of "Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards," said domestic repression remains the regime's most reliable strategy for survival. What's Next For Iran's Terror Army, The Irgc, After Devastating Military Setbacks? "Repressing the people at home is easy. That's something they can do. So it's not unlikely that Iran could become more insular, more autocratic, more repressive — and more similar to, let's say, a North Korea — than what it is today. That might be the only way they see to preserve the regime: by really tightening the screws on the Iranian people, to ensure that the Iranian population doesn't try to rise up and topple the regime," he told Fox News Digital. Inside the regime's power structure, the fallout from the war is just as severe. Aarabi said that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is facing an internal crisis of trust and an imminent purge. "These operations couldn't have taken place without infiltration at the highest levels," he said. "There's immense pressure now to clean house." The next generation of IRGC officers — those who joined after 2000 — are younger, more radical and deeply indoctrinated. Over half of their training is now ideological. Aarabi said that these newer factions have begun turning on senior commanders, accusing them of being too soft on Israel or even collaborating with Mossad. "In a twist of irony, Khamenei created these extreme ideological ranks to consolidate power — and now they're more radical than he is," Aarabi said. "He's struggling to control them." A purge is likely, along with the rise of younger, less experienced commanders with far higher risk tolerance — a shift that could make the IRGC more volatile both domestically and internationally. With Iran's conventional military doctrine in ruins, terrorism may become its primary lever of influence. "The regime's three pillars — militias, ballistic missiles, and its nuclear program — have all been decapitated or severely degraded," Aarabi said. "That leaves only asymmetric warfare: soft-target terrorism with plausible deniability." Despite the regime's brutal turn inward, Aarabi insists this is a sign of weakness, not strength. "If the Islamic Republic were confident, it wouldn't need to crush its people this way," he said. "It's acting out of fear. But until the regime's suppressive apparatus is dismantled, the streets will remain silent — and regime change remains unlikely."Original article source: Iran regime escalates repression toward 'North Korea-style model of isolation and control'
