
17 June 2025: Macron claims Trump offered to mediate Israel-Iran truce
India Today Podcasts Desk
UPDATED: Jun 17, 2025 19:18 IST
On News at 7, this 17th June, Jamshed Qamar Siddiqui brings you the day's most crucial headlines. Macron claims Trump offered to mediate an Israel-Iran truce.Meanwhile, PM Modi faced protests by Khalistani extremists during the G7 summit in Canada. Finally, India's unemployment rate has climbed to 5.6% in May 2025, up from 5.1% in April, as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).
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In charts: Why West Asia is important for India beyond trade
Tensions in West Asia remain high following the Israel-Iran conflict, putting India's interests in the region at risk. The crisis threatens India's oil imports and overall trade, but its implications go beyond economics. Stability in West Asia matters to India as many Indians study, work, and send money back home from the region. The escalation of the conflict, leading to the temporary airspace closure in four nations—the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait—on Monday, makes the situation tense for India and Indians in the region. The evacuation of over 2,000 Indian nationals from Iran and Israel under 'Operation Sindhu" has reinforced the gravity of India's stake in the stability of the region. Several of these were students. While the share of overseas Indians in Israel (0.30%) and Iran (0.03%) is minuscule, West Asian nations together account for over 25% of the 35 million in total, data from the ministry of external affairs showed. There is no formal definition of West Asia (or Middle East as popular in Western countries), but it broadly covers Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the UAE and Yemen. Also Read: Mint Explainer | Strait of Hormuz: Will Iran shut the vital oil artery of the world? The region has also seen interest among a few Indians looking to pursue education abroad. In 2024, nearly 11,000 students were in West Asian nations for studies, data shared by the education ministry in Lok Sabha showed. Though this constitutes only about 1.3% of 760,000 students studying abroad, the UAE, Iran and Israel are among the top choices. Deep ties Millions of Indians, primarily employed in blue-collar jobs, in West Asian countries, fuel the economic engine in the region as well as in India. The largest number in the region is in the UAE, hosting 3.6 million Indians. This is followed by Saudi Arabia (2.5 million). Smaller yet significant Indian communities exist in Kuwait (1 million) and Qatar (0.8 million), and Oman (0.7 million). In recent years, the region, particularly the UAE, has also become a magnet for high-skilled Indian professionals due to tax-free salaries, zero capital gains tax, and a Golden Visa program that offers residency of up to 10 years to people in select fields. In terms of studies, the UAE is popular as several international universities have campuses and colleges in the country. Iran, the second favourite destination, is generally preferred for medical studies and engineering. Also Read: Israel-Iran conflict: Echoes of history haunt West Asia The conflict between Israel and Iran could destabilise the region upon escalation. This can impact many Indians residing in the region or disrupt plans of those who are planning to go there. The experience with the Russia-Ukraine war offers some context: the number of Indians pursuing studies in Ukraine slumped to 252 in 2024 from around 2,200 in might As one in four overseas Indians resides in West Asian countries, India gains significantly from inward remittances. India's remittances touched $118 billion in 2023-24, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India. These remittances help in financing a part of India's trade deficit and offer a cushion during the period of external shocks. Also Read: High-value, white-collar inflows have led a shift in India's inward remittances While the biggest share came from the US, the West Asian nations together accounted for a 38% share, or $45 billion. The UAE contributed 19.2%, followed by Saudi Arabia (6.7%) and Kuwait (3.9%). The two nations locked in the conflict, Israel and Iran, are not among the major sources of inward remittances for India. However, if the conflict spreads—as witnessed on Monday after Iran targeted the US army bases in Qatar and Iraq—it could lead to disruptions in other West Asian nations where India does have deep human resource and monetary connections.


The Hindu
21 minutes ago
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Iran's military denies firing missiles at Israel after ceasefire started, TV reports say
Iran's military denied on Tuesday (June 24, 2025) that it fired missiles at Israel hours after a ceasefire was supposed to begin, Iranian state television reported. The report quoted the general staff of Iran's armed forces, which includes its regular military and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, as making the denial. Israel-Iran conflict LIVE updates Israel reported missile fire some two and a half hours after the ceasefire began. Israeli officials have ordered a strike on Iran in response, though there's no immediate report of an attack there. Earlier, a tentative truce faltered as Israel said Iran had launched missiles into its airspace more than two hours after a ceasefire went into effect and vowed to retaliate. Explosions boomed and sirens sounded across northern Israel midmorning on Tuesday, after both Israel and Iran on Tuesday accepted the ceasefire plan to end the 12-day war roiling the Middle East. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the missiles a violation of the ceasefire and instructed Israel's military to resume 'the intense operations to attack Tehran and to destroy targets of the regime and terror infrastructure.' The shaky agreement was announced early Tuesday morning after Tehran launched a retaliatory limited missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar on Monday. Between U.S. President Donald Trump's post and the start of the ceasefire, Israel launched a blitz of airstrikes targeting sites across Iran before dawn and Iran replied with an onslaught of missiles that killed at least four people in Israel early Tuesday morning. Israel said it had intercepted the midmorning barrage of missiles that came hours into the truce. 'Tehran will tremble' Israel's Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich wrote on X after the missiles were launched. The midmorning barrage of missiles came after regional leaders, including in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, welcomed Trump's announcement of the ceasefire. 'THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!' he wrote on his social media platform Tuesday morning. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had agreed to a bilateral ceasefire with Iran in coordination with Trump, pledging to respond to any subsequent violation. He said he had told Israel's security cabinet that the country had achieved all of its war goals, including removing the threat of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Israel also damaged Iran's military leadership and several government sites and achieved control over Tehran's skies, Netanyahu said. Iranian officials did not comment either after Trump announced the ceasefire or Israel claimed it had intercepted additional missiles hours after it supposedly went into effect. Hours earlier, Iran's top diplomat had said the country was prepared to halt airstrikes. 'As of now, there is NO 'agreement' on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on X. 'However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards.' Araghchi added: 'The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.' The shaky ceasefire followed a day of hostilities spreading further across the region. Iran launched a limited missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for earlier American bombing of its nuclear sites. The U.S. was warned by Iran in advance, and there were no casualties. Israel's military said Iran launched 20 missiles toward Israel before the ceasefire began on Tuesday morning. Police said they damaged at least three densely packed residential buildings in the city of Beersheba. First responders said they retrieved four bodies from one building and were searching for more. Earlier, the Fire and Rescue service said five bodies were found before revising the number downward. At least 20 people were injured. Outside, the shells of burned out cars littered the streets. Broken glass and rubble covered the area. Hundreds of emergency workers gathered to search for anyone else trapped in the buildings. Police said some people were injured even while inside their apartments' reinforced safe rooms, which are meant to withstand rockets and shrapnel but not direct hits from ballistic missiles. Drones attacked military bases in Iraq overnight, including some housing U.S. troops, the Iraqi army and a US military official said Tuesday. No casualties were reported and no group claimed responsibility for the attacks in Iraq. Some Iran-backed Iraqi militias had previously threatened to target U.S. bases if the U.S. attacked Iran. Iraqi army spokesperson Sabah Al-Naaman in a statement called the attacks a 'treacherous and cowardly act of aggression' and said they had damaged radar systems at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, and at Imam Ali Base in Dhi Qar province. Iraqi forces shot down drones at other locations, he said. A senior U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said U.S. forces had shot down drones attacking Ain al-Assad in the desert in western Iraq and at a base next to the Baghdad airport, while another one crashed. Trump promised last night's ceasefire would bring an 'official end' to what he at the time coined the '12 Day War' ahead of Israel's promise to resume operations on Tuesday. Trump had communicated directly with Netanyahu to secure the ceasefire, according to a senior White House official who insisted on anonymity to discuss the Monday talks. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff communicated with the Iranians through direct and indirect channels. The White House has maintained that the Saturday bombing helped get the Israelis to agree to the ceasefire and that the Qatari government helped to broker the deal. It's unclear what role Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's leader, played in the talks. He said earlier on social media that he would not surrender. Israel's Airports Authority said Iran's barrage forced them to close the country's airspace to emergency flights for several hours. Some flights were forced to circle over the Mediterranean Sea, according to Israeli media. Israel's airports have been closed since the war with Iran began, but a handful of emergency flights started arriving and departing over the past few days. By early Tuesday, Qatar Airways resumed its flights after Qatar shut down its airspace over the Iranian attack on Al Udeid Air Base. Flight-tracking data showed commercial aircraft again flying in Qatari airspace, signaling Doha believed the threat on the energy-rich nation had passed. In Israel, at least 28 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the war. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 974 people and wounded 3,458 others, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists. The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from Iranian unrest such as the protests surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, said of those killed, it identified 387 civilians and 268 security force personnel. The U.S. has evacuated some 250 American citizens and their immediate family members from Israel by government, military and charter flights that began over the weekend, a State Department official said. There are roughly 700,000 American citizens, most of them dual U.S.-Israeli citizens, believed to be in Israel.


News18
25 minutes ago
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Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty 50 Erase Gains On Israel-Iran Truce Breach; India VIX Rises
Last Updated: Sensex, Nifty gave up early gains after surging over 1% on reports of a breach in Iran-Israel truce, just hours after it was agreed upon. Indian benchmark indices gave up early gains after surging over 1 per cent on Tuesday on reports of a breach in Iran-Israel truce, just hours after it was agreed upon. The Sensex opened at 82,534.61, up from its previous close of 81,896.79, and rallied over 1,100 points to hit an intraday high of 83,018. However, the 30-share index reversed course and dropped more than 1,100 points from its peak to touch an intraday low of 81,900. Similarly, the Nifty 50 began the day at 25,179.90 versus its previous close of 24,971.90, and rose more than 1 percent to an intraday high of 25,317.70. It later gave up gains and declined to an intraday low of 24,999.70 during the afternoon session. Around 2:25 PM, the Sensex was 137 points, or 0.17 per cent, up at 82,034, while the Nifty 50 was 63 points, or 0.25 per cent, up at 25,035. Israel-Iran Tensions Keep Markets Volatile The domestic market witnessed volatility after media reports suggested Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had ordered the military to strike Tehran after Iran fired missiles in violation of a ceasefire. 'In light of Iran's blatant violation of the ceasefire declared by the President of the United States — through the launch of missiles toward Israel — and in accordance with the Israeli government's policy to respond forcefully to any breach, I have instructed the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)… to continue high-intensity operations targeting regime assets and terror infrastructure in Tehran," Reuters quoted Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz as saying on Tuesday. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Israel and Iran had agreed to a complete ceasefire. First Published: June 24, 2025, 14:43 IST