India will start operating evacuation flights from tomorrow, Infra News, ET Infra
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As for Indian nationals wishing to leave Israel, official sources said India will start operating evacuation flights for them from Amman on Sunday. They will be taken to Jordan by road on Sunday as border points are shut on Saturdays. Deputy chief of mission Mohammad Javad Hosseini said more evacuation flights could be operated in the coming days to bring back Indians, if required. The official also urged India to condemn Israel's actions saying this was a case of aggression against a country and must be condemned in line with international law."We consider Indians as our own people. Iran's airspace is closed but because of this issue, we are making arrangements to open it for the safe passage of Indian nationals," Hosseini said at a media briefing. "Around 1,000 Indians who were relocated from Tehran to Qom and then to Mashhad will be evacuated to New Delhi on three charter flights." Hosseini said Tehran is in close contact with the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and the Indian embassy in Tehran to ensure safe evacuation of Indian nationals. "We are arranging for the safe passage of Indians who want to leave via air or via road through third countries, or directly from Iran," he said. The Iranian diplomat said Indians in Iran are safe, but added that a few Indian students sustained injuries after an Israeli air strike hit a dormitory in Tehran.
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Mint
34 minutes ago
- Mint
Trump gave final go-ahead for Iran attack hours before bombs fell
President Trump had been saying he would give Tehran up to two weeks to yield to U.S. demands before ordering an attack. Then Saturday afternoon at his private club in New Jersey, he gave the final go-ahead to strike in a few hours. 'The goal was to create a situation when everyone wasn't expecting it," said a senior administration official. His order to the military to proceed unleashed a military operation that has been the focus of top-secret planning. Within hours U.S. B-2 bombers penetrated Iranian airspace and dropped half a dozen bunker bombs on Iran's underground nuclear facility at Fordow. U.S. attack submarines launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against sites in Isfahan and Natanz. In a White House address Saturday night, Trump called the attacks 'a spectacular military success" that left Iran's nuclear sites 'completely and totally obliterated." But key questions remain unknown, including whether the Iranian program was fully destroyed and whether Iran will respond with its own attacks on the U.S. or its allies—or possibly try to shut down oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran vowed Saturday not to give up its efforts. The organization 'won't allow the progress of this national industry—built on the blood of nuclear martyrs—to be halted," it said in a statement. The Fordow fuel enrichment facility in Iran. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has been authorized to talk with the Iranians, as Trump tried to keep open the long-shot possibility of some sort of diplomatic understanding that could quiet the region. A U.S. official said the Trump administration had reached out to Iran to make clear the attack was a one-off assault, not the start of a regime-change war. The decision to attack came after weeks of White House deliberations, closely held military preparations and direct coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had launched a similar sudden attack on Iran a week earlier. But Trump seemed conflicted about whether to proceed with the operation over the past week. His advisers also worried about getting pulled into a Middle East conflict despite the frustrations with the diplomatic track aimed at getting Iran to halt its uranium enrichment. In a Tuesday meeting in the Situation Room, Trump approved of plans to strike Iran but withheld a final order, giving time to assess once more if Iran would be willing to entirely end its enrichment of nuclear fuel. 'There was real debate earlier in the week about what we should do," said the senior official. 'But Trump signaled on Tuesday he was leaning toward going forward, so that changed everything." Trump also wanted to create uncertainty about his intentions—and his timeline. The White House said Thursday Trump would give Iran up to two weeks to show its interest in a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. Only a day later he hinted that his patience was wearing out. 'We're going to see what that period of time is, but I'm giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum," he told reporters, adding that he still viewed himself as a peacemaker. Trump made the decision to go ahead with the operation after Iran continued to rebuff his demand to give up its uranium enrichment and Israel paved the way with more than a week's worth of strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure and air defenses. In his Saturday night address, Trump said that his target was Iran's three principal nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan—and wasn't aimed at Iran's leaders. President Trump holding a meeting in the Situation Room Saturday, in this photo released by the White House. The White House released photos of Trump wearing a red Make America Great Again hat with his national-security team in the Situation Room Saturday, where they received updates on the attack as it unfolded. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was among those flanking the president around the table. Caine was a leading architect of the plans to strike Iran, U.S. officials and people familiar with the deliberations said. Trump spoke with Netanyahu just after the operation, and the Israeli leader was 'incredibly grateful," the senior official said. Trump vowed to carry out additional strikes if Iran lashed out at U.S. forces in the region and balked at diplomatic efforts to establish a peace. 'Future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier," he warned. 'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days." The Israeli Air Force attacked Iranian warships and weapons storage facilities at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, a military action that appeared to have been intended to blunt Tehran's ability to retaliate in the Persian Gulf. Trump said Saturday that the strikes had been closely coordinated with Israel. But the U.S. role changed dramatically over the following weeks. On June 9, Netanyahu said he was preparing strikes and intended to move forward with an assault. Trump replied he wanted to see diplomacy with Tehran play out a little longer, according to U.S. officials. Three days later, Trump and Netanyahu spoke again, only this time the Israeli leader made clear he was going to launch a campaign against Iran imminently. The 60-day deadline Trump had initially set for a diplomatic accord had passed, and Israel could wait no longer, Netanyahu said, according to officials familiar with the call. Trump responded that the U.S. wouldn't stand in the way, according to administration officials, but emphasized that the U.S. military wouldn't assist with any offensive operations. As the bombs started falling that June 12 evening in Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement confirming the U.S. played no role in Israel's unilateral attack. The initial U.S. military role was defensive and focusing on protecting Israel against Iranian drone and missile attacks. As the success of Israel's opening salvos became clear, Trump started to claim credit for enabling the operation with U.S. weapons and saying the strikes could ultimately help compel Iran to make a deal. Over the following days, Trump held lengthy discussions with key aides about his options, ranging from leveraging Israeli strikes to compel Iran to negotiate its nuclear program away to authorizing American attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. After Trump made the final call Saturday in New Jersey, B-2 stealth bombers dropped six 30,000 pound bunker busting bombs on Fordow. More than two dozen cruise missiles were fired by U.S. submarines at Natanz and Isfahan, two other sites where Iran has carried out nuclear work and enriched uranium. 'We won't know for sure until the morning what was taken out, but our belief is that we took out everything we wanted to," said the senior official. Write to Michael R. Gordon at Josh Dawsey at and Alexander Ward at
Hindustan Times
36 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
US strikes give Iran legal right to exit nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, says Iranian lawmaker
Jun 22, 2025 12:48 PM IST Iran has the legal right to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) based on its Article 10 following U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, Parliament Foreign Policy Committee Head Abbas Golroo said on X on Sunday. A banner shows pictures of top Iranian officials and military heads who were killed in Israeli strikes(REUTERS) Article 10 states that an NPT member has "the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country."
India Today
36 minutes ago
- India Today
Aandhi: A cinematic storm that echoed Indira's era
In this week's Retro Review, we dive into 'Aandhi', a bold political satire that stirred controversy for its striking parallels to Indira Gandhi. A timeless tale of ambition, love, and sacrifice, it remains a cinematic Review: Aandhi (1975)Cast: Sanjeev Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Om Prakash, AK Hangal, Om ShivpuriDirector: GulzarMusic/Lyrics: RD Burman, GulzarBox-Office Status: HitWhere to Watch: YouTubeWhy to Watch: For its poignant portrayal of politics' toll on personal livesMoral of the Story: Kuch toh log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehnaadvertisementFormer Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi devoted an hour every morning to yoga. She spent almost an equivalent amount of time with her stylist every week. The combination of the two gave her a distinct personality, highlighted by a slender physique, brisk walk, crisp sarees, and a hairstyle with a signature streak of the 1970s, Mrs Gandhi (as she was known worldwide) was at the peak of her popularity. The victory over Bangladesh, and her 'garibi hatao' campaign had endeared her to the masses and the classes. Even the opposition hailed her as an avatar of Durga. Photo: IMDb advertisement Film-maker Gulzar saw in Indira's unique persona and soaring popularity an opportunity to craft a political satire. The outcome was 'Aandhi', a film that suffered the highs and lows of the character that inspired has said many times the film was not based on Indira Gandhi's life. Only the lead character, Aarti Devi, was inspired by her, and Tarkeshwari Sinha, a popular Parliamentarian from Patna. But at the time of 'Aandhi's' release, the film was marketed as an Indira Gandhi biopic, with posters exhorting the audience to come and watch 'their PM on the screen.'The strategy, initially successful, backfired when Mrs Gandhi's opponents started screening some of the scenes in 'Aandhi' to tarnish her image during elections for the Gujarat assembly, fought in the heat of the Navnirman on a complaint filed by the Congress, the Election Commission banned 'Aandhi', 24 weeks after its initial release. Soon after, on June 26, 1975, Indira Gandhi's firm voice crackled through All India Radio, announcing the imposition of the Emergency. The film, thus, was indelibly linked with Mrs Gandhi, and the excesses of the Emergency that coincided with the PLOT'Aandhi's' narrative unfolds with a delicate balance of personal drama and political intrigue, centred on Aarti Devi (Suchitra Sen), a charismatic yet embattled politician whose chance reunion with her estranged husband, JK (Sanjeev Kumar), forces her to confront the sacrifices her ambition has demanded. Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen in a still from 'Aandhi'. (Photo: Facebook/FilmHistoryPic) While Aarti navigates the deluge of emotions from the past, an election unfolds, with all its trickery and subterfuge. Unable to match her aura and sharp moves, the opposition attacks Aarti's personal tongues, like they always do, begin to wag with rumours, snide remarks and salacious gossip. But, with a bold move at the end, Aarti stuns her critics, stealing the show, literally, from their own narrative similarities with Indira Gandhi are hard to miss. Her father, India's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, wasn't happy with her marriage to Feroze Gandhi, a Parsi. The marriage was solemnised with Vedic rituals, at Nehru's Gandhi, a dynamic politician and journalist, maintained an independent identity. Elected to the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli in 1952 and 1957, he often sparred with the government. In 1958, he famously uncovered the LIC scandal, which implicated the relationship with Indira was complex, marked by periods of strain. Burdened with contradictions, the alliance didn't last long. Indira Gandhi soon shifted to her father's home with her sons Rajiv and 'Aandhi', Aarti's complex marriage with JK, who has an independent spirit, mirrors the Indira-Feroze dynamics. But, unlike Feroze Gandhi's tragic end - he died young after a heart attack - the film ends on a happy another scene, Aarti is pelted with stones. This happens after she delivers a speech and is confronted by an angry crowd. A journalist then asks her if violence is a part of politics, to which she replies that it is a part of bad incident has an uncanny similarity with a political rally where a stone hit Indira Gandhi's nose, requiring minor surgery. Photo: IMDb THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLYThe film's brilliance lies in Gulzar's ability to craft a story that is both intimate and universal, exploring the toll of public life on personal relationships. Sen's portrayal of Aarti is magnetic. She channels the poise and steely resolve of a leader while revealing the quiet loneliness beneath her polished as JK, matches her with a performance that is understated yet deeply affecting, his character's stoic demeanour masking years of unresolved film's non-linear storytelling, a Gulzar trademark, weaves past and present seamlessly, showing how Aarti's rise in politics strained her marriage and distanced her from her daughter. This personal conflict is juxtaposed with her public persona, where she navigates a world of sycophants, rivals, and moral compromises.'Aandhi' doesn't shy away from showing the gritty realities of politics - bribery, manipulation, and public scrutiny - but it does so with a poetic restraint that avoids Burman's music, paired with Gulzar's evocative lyrics, is the film's emotional heartbeat. Songs like 'Tere Bina Zindagi Se' and 'Is Mod Se Jaate Hain' are not mere interludes but narrative pillars, amplifying the themes of longing and chemistry between Sen and Kumar is most palpable in these musical moments, where their unspoken emotions speak louder than words. The supporting cast - Om Prakash, AK Hangal, and Om Shivpuri - adds depth, portraying the loyalists and sceptics who orbit Aarti's problem with the film is its climax. It starts with a problem that looks like a pointless 'Aandhi', a storm in a teacup, and ends with a dramatic solution. The subplot feels forced, relying on exaggerated gossip to dramatise Aarti's marriage, which clashes with the film's nuanced VERDICTDespite this flaw, the film's depiction of a strong, flawed female leader was groundbreaking for its time, challenging stereotypes in a male-dominated industry. The human story at its core - a love tested by ambition and time - makes 'Aandhi' timeless. The formula has been copied many times, almost verbatim in later films like 'Pyar Jhukta Nahin', underlining its evergreen Gandhi lost the 1977 election. When 'Aandhi' was re-released by the Moraraji Desai government, the audiences embraced its nuanced take on power and vulnerability. The film's success was a reminder that Indira Gandhi may have been defeated, but she wasn't forgotten. Like 'Aandhi', Indira Gandhi also got a second chance at redemption.'Aandhi' remains a must-watch for its bold storytelling, unforgettable performances, and its unflinching look at the personal costs of political life. It's a reminder that behind every public figure lies a private struggle, and that art, even when banned, has the power to endure and provoke. Watch it to witness a masterclass in filmmaking, music composition, and to reflect on the timeless truth: kuch toh log kahenge, but the heart knows its own story.P.S.: In 'Aandhi', Suchitra Sen is styled after Indira Gandhi. She wears crisp sarees, and has her trademark streak of grey. Habib Ahmed, the famous stylist, once revealed Indira's hair was 99 per cent except that grey streak, the rest had to be dyed black. 'She had it done first in France, and then I took over,' Habib revealed, adding that he saw the PM once or twice a week to help her maintain her iconic look.
