Daily Briefing: Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again; polling underway in Kerala, Assam & Puducherry

With that, let’s move on to the top stories from today’s edition:

• Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again
• Israel bombs Lebanon
• Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s magic

🚨 Big Story

Less than 24 hours after agreeing to a ceasefire, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again on Wednesday after Israeli strikes killed more than 100 people in Lebanon. The US and Israel claimed that Lebanon was not a part of the two-week “ceasefire” agreement that was agreed upon minutes before a deadline set by President Donald Trump. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, then shared Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s post earlier in the day mentioning that Lebanon was part of the deal. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz comes in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon, with Iran saying that Tel Aviv was violating the terms of ceasefire by continuing strikes on Beirut.

Hours after the US-Iran ceasefire announcement on Wednesday, the Indian Embassy in Tehran issued a fresh advisory, asking its nationals to “expeditiously” leave the war-torn country. It also launched a new helpline number to accelerate the process. The step is being taken to use the window of ceasefire to exit in case things flare up again. According to officials, around 7,500 Indian nationals still remain in Iran. Earlier, India “welcomed” the ceasefire and expressed hope that it would lead to a “lasting peace”.

Pakistan has recently emerged as a key mediator between US and Iran with Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and PM Sharif playing pivotal roles in brokering the 2-week ceasefire, which has also set the stage for delegation-level talks from both countries in Pakistan scheduled to be held tomorrow. There is distinct disquiet in New Delhi, with the official sense being that US President Trump wanted an off-ramp – and Pakistan rushed in to help. However, the sequence of events makes it clear that Pakistan worked the lines and made its moves in a carefully calibrated manner that helped it punch far above its weight.

Optimists vs pessimists: As US-Iran talks begin on Friday in Islamabad, there is room for both hope and despair. C Raja Mohan explains: “That both sides have declared victory points to the prospect of successful talks. But the massive divergence between the declared positions of the two sides–Washington’s 15‑point proposal and Tehran’s 10-point counter – frames the challenge ahead. They reflect fundamentally opposed worldviews and incompatible readings of the sources of their conflict. Whether Islamabad produces a framework for peace or merely sets the stage for renewed confrontation will depend on how the two sides navigate five entrenched contradictions.”

⚡ Only in Express

10-point vs 15-point demand: US President Trump and the Iranian Foreign Minister, Araghchi have asserted that the US and Iran would now negotiate on the basis of Iran’s ’10-point’ demands, sent as a response to Washington’s ‘15-point demands’. As Trump considers Iran’s demands to be workable, we take a look at what each of their lists entail:

The US’s demands include the need for Iran to dismantle nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz; commit to not build nuclear weapons; hand over enriched uranium to the IAEA and allow inspectors full access; limit Iran’s missile programme; and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The US said it would remove US and UN sanctions on Iran and US support for nuclear power production in the Bushehr nuclear plant.

Iran’s 10 points, meanwhile, require the US to commit to non-aggression, recognise Iran’s control of Hormuz, accept Tehran’s sovereign enrichment rights, lift all primary and secondary sanctions and terminate punitive UN and IAEA resolutions, withdraw US forces and compensate Iran, and end Israel’s war on Lebanon. What’s the logic? What did the war mean for Washington and Iran? My colleague Bashir Ali Abbas explains.

📰 From the Front Page

Women’s quota: The Union Cabinet has cleared the proposed Constitutional amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and a Delimitation Bill to fast-track 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas. The long-pending reservation will become a reality through a set of Bills allowing the usage of 2011 data for the purpose. This would help increase the strength in the Lok Sabha by 50% by the next general elections in 2029. The Delimitation Bill will propose an increase of 50% in the number of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, while a separate Bill will be moved to implement this move in Union Territories.

‘Bangladesh First’: The Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Khalilur Rahman has conveyed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will pursue a “Bangladesh First” policy based on “mutual trust and respect and reciprocal benefit”. The Ministry also “reiterated its request to extradite Sheikh Hasina and her Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to Bangladesh who have been awarded the death penalty by the International Crimes Tribunal”. Former PM Sheikh Hasina has been in Delhi since August last year after being ousted following widespread protests.

Surat crisis: Two weekly offs, no night shifts and community kitchens – Surat, the hub of man-made fibre industry in India, is struggling to keep the wheels turning amid the West Asia war. As rising raw material prices hit production and demand, the LPG crisis has forced around 40% of the migrant workforce to head home. While the ceasefire has come as a relief, no one expects an immediate difference on the ground. From around 6 crore metres of fabric a day per factory on an average, production is down to half. The number of migrant workers, mainly from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha, are also down by nearly 8 lakh.

📌 Must Read

COP33: India is learnt to be no longer inclined in hosting the COP33 climate meeting in 2028, according to official sources. India had not formally bid for the event, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made the offer in December 2023, during the COP28 meeting in Dubai. The rethink comes with the growing realization within the government that as the host of the conference, India would be expected to champion and prioritise the global cause on climate change, which could come in conflict with its own national positions on climate-related issues.

TMC vs BJP: The Trinamool Congress is expecting a tough contest in stronghold Kolkata, now that voter rolls are almost finalized with the completion of the adjudication process. According to data shared by the Election Commission of India (ECI), a decrease of 6,06,563 voters has been noticed following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise across Kolkata North and Kolkata South districts. The gap between the votes received by the TMC and BJP in the last Assembly elections (2021) was 6,07,612. Kolkata South voter numbers have gone down by 2,47,882 – almost 27%, while Kolkata North has seen deletions of 3,58,681 names – a fall of almost 24%.

Bombing in Lebanon: Despite the ceasefire between US and Iran on Wednesday, Israel continued to launch “the largest coordinated strike across Lebanon”, targeting more than 100 facilities within 10 minutes and killing around 250 people. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu soon announced that while Israel supported the ceasefire, the attacks on Lebanon would continue. This led Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz again. Here’s why Netanyahu is insisting on bombing Lebanon, at the cost of endangering a ceasefire his biggest ally just agreed to.

⏳ And Finally…

🏏 The IPL’s most-anticipated duel of the Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals game on Tuesday in Guwahati, could prove to be one of the most mesmerising moments of the series. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s high and exaggerated backlift once again entered the cricketing consciousness of everyone watching. His coach Zubin Bharucha explains why the exaggerated backlift, forward-leaning head position, and wrists all work in sync with each other – something that he is still working on – it has the potential to be magical. “The fundamental thing about that backlift, Bharucha says, is what it creates – “time and space”. The very facets batsmen yearn for but find difficult to attain against high-quality pace,” Sriram Veera writes.

🎧 Lastly, tune in to today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, where we talk about how the Fast Breeder Reactor in Kalpakkam marks a major milestone in India’s nuclear programme. We also discuss why the West Asia ceasefire has not eased the global energy shock, as well as the first round of polling being held today in Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry.

That’s all for today. Have a wonderful day!

Until next time,
Ariba

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