Redefining Horizons

  The Big Bang The Iran war started with a bang, in fact, a series of big bangs. Unlike the big bang that is said to have started the universe, the bangs from the 30-odd bombs dropped over multiple locations in Tehran were meant to create a new world order. The precision-guided air-launched ballistic missiles that first climbed into their sub-orbital trajectory in the “near space” and darted down at extremely high speeds onto the secure compound where Ayatollah Khamenei lived. It was Operation Epic Fury, unveiled. Immediately thereafter, Prime Minister Benjamin Nethenyahu and President Trump declared that the ‘evil regime’ has been decapitated.  This was on 28 Feb 2026.  The world waited to see the high-speed evolution where the Iranians took to the streets in multitudes, overturned the regime, chased the mullahs out, and installed someone Uncle Sam, the benevolent and righteous, liked. After all, the Iranians under a repressive regime deserved redemption. All sorts...

  In the last two parts of the article on the Iran War, we saw the events leading up to the current war in the Gulf.  We concluded the second part with a promise to crystal-gaze at how the war would impact all of us, especially us in India.   A Quick Recap   The USA had engineered the fall of the Rial in Iran. Its economy, already weighed down by years of US sanctions, made it even worse. It soon triggered public unrest, but did not result in the regime change America wanted. Meanwhile, America had demanded the capping of Iran’s nuclear capabilities. The indirect talks in the Omani Embassy in Geneva between Mr Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister and Mr Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy, with adviser Jared Kushner, a businessman and President Trump’s son-in-law of the United States, were mediated by Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, the Foreign Minister of Oman. On 26 Feb, they parted ways, agreeing to meet in Vienna, Austria, in early March. The technical-level...

    Caveat The present is always a continuum of the past and the future, though unpredictable, cannot detach itself from today and today’s past. The past always makes its presence felt. This is not a political article. It does not take sides. It is meant to be a cogent presentation of historical facts and figures available in the public domain. Readers are free to infer whatever they want.  Ominous Signs in Geneva ?  The intense day-long meeting on 26 February 2026 concluded with Badr al-Busaidi, the Foreign Minister of Oman, announcing that the talks had concluded  “after significant progress.”  It was also reported that both sides displayed  “unprecedented openness to new and creative ideas”  during discussions on nuclear constraints and potential sanctions relief. The Iranian officials declared that these were among the most intense talks so far and indicated that they had reached a  broad understanding on many elements  of ...