Egypt's Foreign Minister Postpones India Visit Again Amid Middle East Crisis
Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has called off his planned visit to India for the second time this year, with sources indicating the cancellation is linked to rising tensions across the Middle East region.
The diplomatic trip, originally scheduled for this week, has been indefinitely postponed according to informed officials who confirmed that previous arrangements should now be considered void. Abdelatty was expected to hold bilateral discussions with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his stay in New Delhi.
This marks the second cancellation of the Egyptian minister's India visit, following a similar postponement in February 2025. While Egyptian authorities have not provided an official explanation for the latest cancellation, diplomatic sources suggest it stems from the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East, particularly following recent escalations between Israel and Iran.
The timing coincides with heightened regional instability triggered by Israel's military operation against Iran on June 13, known as Operation Rising Lion, which has drawn increased U.S. involvement in supporting Israeli military actions.
Despite the diplomatic setback, India-Egypt relations have strengthened significantly in recent years. The two nations elevated their partnership to Strategic Partnership status in 2023 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Cairo. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi reciprocated by serving as the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations the same year.
Egypt has now become a critical potential evacuation route for Indian citizens currently in Israel amid the ongoing conflict. The strategic importance of Egypt-India ties extends beyond diplomacy, with both countries having signed a defense cooperation agreement in 2022 following Defense Minister Rajnath Singh's Cairo visit.
The bilateral defense relationship has gained momentum through regular Joint Defense Committee meetings, with ten sessions conducted to date. The most recent defense committee meeting took place in New Delhi in 2024, demonstrating the sustained military cooperation between the two nations despite current diplomatic scheduling challenges.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses. Sonnet 4
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Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
'There is no red line' US hasn't crossed, says Iran's foreign minister; declares diplomacy dead after America strikes on nuclear sites
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First Post
31 minutes ago
- First Post
As US joins Israel's war against Iran, is Ayatollah's time coming to end?
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STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Israel had already degraded the Iranian power to the extent that nearly all air defences had been taken out, the military brass had been wiped out, and many missile launchers and weapon storage sites had been destroyed, US airstrikes on Saturday struck a blow to Khamenei's ultimate leverage of the nuclear programme. The Islamic Republic is currently at its weakest point and Supreme Leader Khamenei does not have many options as the war is now not just with Israel but with the United States and the fear of the collapse of regime change is very real, says Alvite Ningthoujam, a scholar of West Asia at the School of International Studies (SIS), Symbiosis International University (SIU), Pune. For decades, Iran did not draw power just from its military and intelligence apparatus, which was second in the region only to that of Israel, but also from the 'Axis of Resistance' it sponsored — the bloc comprised groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis. The bloc stands battered and is in no position to help Iran. For Israel, 'Operation Rising Lion' that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched last week was not a new war but merely the latest episode in the war that the Islamic Republic began in 1979, so the current state of the regime, whether it's the degradation of proxies or strikes on its nuclear sites, is the result of its policies going back to the foundation of the regime, says Daphne Richemond Barak, a professor of international relations at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at Israel's Reichman University. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Khamenei faces regime change fears as Trump & Netanyahu join hands In a far cry from 1989 when Khamenei took over as the Supreme Leader of Iran and assumed the responsibility of destroying Israel, exporting the Islamic Revolution globally, and weakening the West, his sole responsibility has now been reduced to ensuring the survival of the regime. Netanyahu, on the other hand, is hell-bent on toppling Ayatollah Khamenei's regime and it remains to be seen if President Trump will support that objective as well, says Ningthoujam, the Deputy Director at SIS, Pune. Regime change is, however, easier said than done. Unlike Iraq or Afghanistan, there is no indication that Israel or the United States are about to launch a ground offensive. Unlike Syria, there are no opposition forces whom they may support militarily and financially against the regime. 'Even as Supreme Leader Khamenei appears to be secure from immediate regime change, the threat is there and he is under unprecedented pressure, and it is under such pressure that he takes major actions. The future of the regime may rest on whether he now decides to fight to the end, develop a nuclear weapon, or make a deal to live to fight another day,' says Ningthoujam. 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The regime change in Iran may not be the same as Iraq or Afghanistan where an invading force overthrew the ruler or like Syria where armed groups opposed to the regime overthrew it, but could be much more subtle, suggests Ningthoujam. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'If the Supreme Leader is assassinated along with the remaining leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), there would be a leadership vacuum. The rise of a new crop of leaders would amount to a regime change. Even if the Supreme Leader remains but the regime is weakened and public anger against extremists swells, the moderates may come to power and give the country a new direction. That would be as good as regime change,' says Ningthoujam. Khamenei has no good options With his back to the wall, Khamenei has no good options. Whether Khamenei makes a deal and surrenders the nuclear programme to ensure the regime's survival or puts up a fight, the chances are that he would emerge as a loser both internally and externally. If Khamenei gives up nuclear enrichment as the international community has demanded, he would give up his final leverage and risk meeting the same fate as Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who gave up the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programme in 2003 in a deal with the United States and United Kingdom and was still ousted in Western military intervention in 2011. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If Khamenei keeps his nuclear programme, he would risk plunging his country deeper into the conflict. Neither Netanyahu nor Trump would have any issue from bombarding Iran until it becomes a wasteland like the Gaza Strip. ALSO READ: Inside Netanyahu's campaign to destroy Iran's bunker nuclear sites Either way, Supreme Leader Khamenei would be at the risk of losing his legitimacy and that of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution, says Ningthoujam. For Israel, however, Khamenei's choice may not matter — at least for now. Even though Prime Minister Netanyahu set the destruction of Iranian nuclear capabilities and the collapse of the Iranian regime as principal objectives, the main idea behind the offensive was the degradation of the Iranian regime and that has been achieved, says Prof. Barak, the international relations scholar at Israel's Reichman University. Critics of the US and Israeli actions have said that strikes on the Iranian nuclear programme would leave Khamenei with no choice but to make a nuclear weapon to restore deterrence as conventional deterrence stands eroded. Barak does not agree. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Barak says, 'The attacks have degraded the Iranian ability to make nuclear weapons. Even if the knowledge continues to exist, the means no longer exist whether it is a strong regime at home or proxies abroad. There were four broad outcomes with Operation Rising Lion and at least three of them are about to be realised.' Barak lists the four outcomes expected from the Operation Rising Lion at the onset: the United States entering the war on Israel's sides and attacking Iran's underground nuclear sites as that capability did not exist with Israel; Israeli strikes in the absence of direct US involvement setting back the Iranian nuclear programme by many years, making its revival next to impossible; Israeli strikes and possible US participation pushing Iran into making a deal favourable to Israel; and the chaos inside Iran from the war leading to an uprising against the regime. While the first two potential outcomes have been achieved and the third may still be achieved as Trump has pitched the strikes as a way to bring Iran to the negotiating table. The fourth potential outcome depends on how the situation evolves. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Until now, it was a proxy war. Now, Israel has gone for the head of the octopus — Iran is an octopus and not a snake. If you cut a tentacle, like Hezbollah or Hamas, it would regrow. Therefore, Israel has now struck the head of the octopus in Iran. The international community may be concerned about chaos at the fall of the regime in Iran, but Israel is not. Israel has been in an existential war with Iran since 1979,' says Barak.
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
Browns turn gray: Entries, mountains at Fordow nuclear site damaged- satellite images show
Entries to the Fordow nuclear site in Iran and the mountains under which it is buried suffered significant damage following targeted US strikes on Sunday, according to the satellite images provided by Planet Labs PBC. A close comparison with earlier satellite imagery indicates that previously brown mountain slopes have turned gray, with altered contours, likely the result of powerful explosions, as per an analysis by the Associated Press. The visual evidence strongly points to the deployment of specialized American 'bunker buster' bombs, capable of penetrating fortified underground targets. Left- Before the attack; right- after the attack Light gray smoke lingering in the air further supports the conclusion that a high-impact military strike took place. Despite the clear signs of damage, Iranian authorities have yet to release an official assessment or acknowledge the extent of the impact on the Fordow facility. The Fordow site, deeply embedded within a mountain to shield it from attacks, appears to have sustained direct hits powerful enough to seal its entryways. Experts suggest that such sealing would render the facility inaccessible without extensive excavation, a task that could significantly hinder any activities within. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo US claims Iran's nuclear sites 'fully obliterated' US President Donald Trump, in his address to the nation post strikes on Iran, claimed that the nuclear sites in the Islamic nation had been "completely and fully obliterated". The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran acknowledged that its facilities at Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were targeted in the attacks, but maintained that its nuclear program would continue uninterrupted. Both Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog reported no immediate indications of radioactive contamination at any of the three sites after the strikes. How US helped Israel target Iran's nuclear sites The US played a critical role in helping Israel target Iran's nuclear sites by providing advanced military capabilities that Israel alone did not possess. While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and US intelligence has found no active pursuit of a bomb, both Trump and Israeli leaders believed Iran could rapidly develop a nuclear weapon, posing an urgent threat. Following a sustained Israeli air campaign that weakened Iran's air defenses and damaged some nuclear infrastructure, the US stepped in with direct military involvement. Key to this operation were American B-2 stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound 'bunker buster' bombs—munitions specifically designed to penetrate fortified underground facilities like those at Fordow and Natanz, which only the US is equipped to deploy. According to the States and Israeli officials, these unique capabilities provided the best chance of destroying Iran's deeply buried nuclear assets. Trump, reportedly influenced by Israeli officials and Republican lawmakers, concluded that the timing was ideal—Israel's preliminary strikes had "softened the ground," creating a rare window to significantly, and perhaps permanently, cripple Iran's nuclear ambitions.
