Trump Attack on Iran Imminent; Canadian Police Say Bishnoi Gang 'Acting on Behalf of' Indian Govt; Singapore's Zubeen Inquest Shows Up Assam Police; Modi Downgrades Lokpal
Can India Shape the Script of Global AI Governance? Or Is It Already Written?
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January 14, 2026
Siddharth Varadarajan
With a kidnapping in Venezuela done and the takeover of Greenland still a work in progress, Donald Trump’s edition of America’s Forever Wars is about to hit Iran. Reuters sees the withdrawal of some US personnel from military bases in the Gulf as a clear sign that an attack on Iran is imminent.
The situation in Iran is no doubt terrible but, as Bamo Nouri reminds us, military intervention “tends not to empower democratic forces. It instead appears to elevate the most organised and militarised parties to power, producing long-term instability rather than renewal… Without a credible, homegrown transition, Iran risks fragmenting and sliding into chaos. Genuine change in Iran cannot be engineered from the outside, especially at the point of a missile.”
India – like a number of other countries – has again advised its citizens against travelling to Iran, where one US-based activist organisation estimates more than 2,500 people have been killed amid protests against the ruling establishment. The head of Iran’s judiciary has signalled that protesters will be tried expeditiously and hanged, in a direct challenge to US President Donald Trump’s remarks that he would intervene in some way were Tehran to execute any protestor.
In the face of the 25% punitive tariff Trump has imposed on countries trading with Iran, South Block would have us believe that India’s trade with Iran accounts for only a small fraction of overall commerce and therefore merits little strategic concern. By this logic, Tehran’s turmoil is marginal, and New Delhi should have no hesitation in falling in line with Washington’s demands.On the other hand, former diplomat Mahesh Sachdev explains why Iran matters to India – and why dismissing its relevance is strategically short-sighted.
The United States government is suspending the processing of immigrant visa applications from 75 countries on the grounds that migrants from these nations end up seeking public assistance in the US. The list includes all South Asian countries except India, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Tourist, business and student visa applications will not be affected.
A French aviation website, Avions Legendaires, reports on the possibility of a fresh sale of Rafale aircraft to India and an agreement to upgrade “35 Rafales currently in service”. That is one less than the 36 India bought from France and lends credence to the claim that the Indian Air Force lost a Rafale in air
