Praful Bidwai

NEW DELHI – Now that the Western powers have reached a deal with Russia and China to refer Iran’s nuclear activities to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a serious escalation of tensions with Tehran is in the cards. While Russia and China are sending diplomats to Tehran, according to the Russian Information Agency, there … Continue reading “Iran Confrontation in the Cards”

NEW DELHI – The "nuclear cooperation" agreement signed by United States President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, six months ago in Washington, has run into trouble over separation of India’s civilian installations from the military. As a result of this major hurdle, the "one of a kind" deal is unlikely to … Continue reading “Bumpy Ride for Indo-US Nuclear Deal”

Now that Iran has broken the seals it put two and a half years ago on an atomic research facility at Natanz, 250 km (155 mi.) south of Tehran, the threat of escalating conflict centered on the Western powers’ effort to halt its nuclear activities looms large. The major nuclear-weapon states, led by the United … Continue reading “Iran Opens Nuclear Locks – and a Hornet’s Nest”

NEW DELHI – The Asia-Pacific region has not only emerged as one of the main engines of the world economy, it has also taken the global center stage in developments pertaining to nuclear weapons and efforts to acquire a capability to make them. From Iran and Israel in West Asia, through India and Pakistan in … Continue reading “Nuclear Clouds Gather
Over Asia”

NEW DELHI – Indian leaders are finding, to their dismay, that they confront far tougher choices in implementing a controversial nuclear agreement they signed with the United States than they had bargained for. These choices pertain to a sequence of steps New Delhi must take that could prove a potential obstacle to the deal’s execution, … Continue reading “Indian Nuclear Deal With US Turns Faustian Bargain”

NEW DELHI – Seven years after blasting its way into the world’s "nuclear club," India has executed a major shift in its policy stance by jettisoning its long-standing advocacy of global nuclear disarmament in favor of nuclear non-proliferation. On Monday, the country’s Foreign Secretary, Shyam Saran enunciated a new doctrinal orientation: India will now be … Continue reading “India Abandons Global Nuclear Disarmament”

NEW DELHI – Even as the death toll from the Oct. 8 earthquake mounts in India and more so in Pakistan, the two governments are injecting shrewd calculations of self-interest into their relief programs. Rather than efficiently helping survivors in divided Kashmir, the two governments are squandering a valuable opportunity to cooperate with each other … Continue reading “Playing Politics as Quake Toll Rises”

NEW DELHI – By voting for a Western-sponsored resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), meant to reprimand Iran, India has signaled the collapse of its long-standing policy of nonalignment. Capping recent agreements signed with the United States on military and civilian nuclear cooperation within an increasingly closer "strategic partnership" with it, this constitutes … Continue reading “India Ditches Iran and Nonalignment”

Pakistan has stunned the world – and its subcontinental neighbor and rival India – by making an overture to Israel, which it long shunned and condemned as a Zionist state. On Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri met his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Istanbul, Turkey. Shalom described the meeting – held at the initiative … Continue reading “India Outfoxed as Pakistan Plays the Israel Card”

The Iranian government’s threat to resume limited nuclear activities after the European Union (EU) missed a deadline on Sunday to offer new incentives is clearly part of a calculated attempt to mount pressure on the EU-3 (Britain, France, and Germany). The EU-3 has rebuffed Iran’s call and warned against "any unilateral move" on Tehran’s part … Continue reading “Europe Plays Nuclear Poker With Iran”