Raisina Wire: India’s strategic briefing

Raisina Wire is an independent Indian news and analysis platform on geopolitics, national security, defence, diplomacy and markets, in English, Hindi and Bengali: original editions by Ilmaz Syed, live coverage, video explainers, a live news wire, a market board and a members’ community.

Latest from Raisina Wire

• Musk weighs merging Tesla and SpaceX into a $3.5 trillion giant: what it means for investors United States · Big Tech · Raisina Wire · 2 November 2026

  Musk says a merger makes sense and committees are studying it. But a deal would put SpaceX's US security work under one roof with Tesla's China business.

• US midterms on 3 November: how they work, and why India is watching United States · Midterm elections · Ilmaz Syed · 2 November 2026

  All 435 House seats and a third of the Senate are on the ballot. The result will decide how far Trump can push tariffs, H-1B curbs and his foreign policy.

• 'No geographical limits': Mojtaba Khamenei orders Iran's forces to hit back anywhere if the US strikes again Iran · Military doctrine · Raisina Wire · 1 November 2026

  In his first reported meeting with top generals, Iran's supreme leader ordered a new target list as Washington weighs strikes after the midterms.

• Gaza's children went back to school. Now they are being killed on the way there Gaza · Children under fire · Ilmaz Syed · 1 November 2026

  Classes resumed on 19 September. Since then, Israeli strikes and sniper fire have killed pupils on the road home, at assembly and near the shifting Yellow Line.

• Israel's hung Knesset: what a weakened Netanyahu means for India, Iran and Gaza Israel · Elections · Ilmaz Syed · 1 November 2026

  Netanyahu's bloc fell to 53 seats, eight short of a majority. India's defence ties will hold, but an Iran flare-up would hit it fast.

• Israel's Rightward March: A change of leadership or The hardening of a State Israel Election · Raisina Wire · 27 October 2026

  Netanyahu faces a defining electoral test, but the deeper question is whether Israel’s political centre has moved so far right that even his defeat may not change the country’s strategic course.

• ₹17 lakh crore at risk? NPS employees' union asks PM for CAG audit over ₹17,000 crore startup bet India · Pensions · Ilmaz Syed · 26 October 2026

  The All India NPS Employees Federation wants the NPS Trust dissolved and threatens to blockade PFRDA on 20 December. Its claims are yet to be verified.

• China's spending problem: why its people won't buy, and why the world, India included, is paying for it China · Economy · Ilmaz Syed · 26 October 2026

  Consumption is about 56% of China's GDP against 70% in most economies. The unsold goods flood abroad, and India's $112 billion deficit shows where they land.

• The Iran war explained: eight months that killed a supreme leader, choked Hormuz and remade West Asia Iran · War explained · Ilmaz Syed · 26 October 2026

  From the 28 February strikes to the fight for the Strait of Hormuz: how the war unfolded, what it has cost, and why India is watching every tanker.

• From Persia to Iran: why a civilisation that absorbs its conquerors still unsettles the world Iran · Civilisation and power · Raisina Wire · 26 October 2026

  From 240 kingdoms and the King of Kings to the Islamic Republic: Iran's long arc explains its defiance today, and its deep ties with India.

• Europe's youth take to the streets: France plans a nationwide strike as protests spread over housing and costs Europe · Cost-of-living protests · Raisina Wire · 26 October 2026

  4.1 lakh marched in France, Italy deployed troops in Milan and Lisbon police cleared a housing camp as anger over rents and living costs spreads.

• Gunmen attack funeral at Jordan church, killing nine; CCTV shows three armed men Jordan · Terror attack · Raisina Wire · 26 October 2026

  Jordan calls the Karak church shooting terrorism and vows the harshest penalties. The attackers are still unidentified and their motive unknown.

• Trump puts Operation Sindoor in his midterm pitch, claims tariff threats stopped India–Pakistan war India–US · Operation Sindoor · Raisina Wire · 26 October 2026

  At a Florida rally he repeated a claim India rejects, and complained again about missing the Nobel

• Machado returns to Venezuela after 10 months in exile: "I am here. With you" Venezuela · Politics · Raisina Wire · 26 October 2026

  The Nobel laureate's comeback tests interim president Delcy Rodríguez, in office past her mandate with no election set, and Trump's Venezuela bet

• US national VanDyke returns to Delhi in NIA Myanmar case, seeks seized belongings Northeast · NIA case · Raisina Wire · 26 October 2026

  Accused of training Myanmar armed groups, he and six Ukrainians face immigration charges, not terror charges. All seven may stay abroad till February

• Netanyahu posts AI image of a nuclear blast over Tel Aviv, two days before Israel votes Israel · Election 2026 · Raisina Wire · 25 October 2026

  Sharing a call to "finish the work in Iran" in Trump's last two years, the PM drew charges of fearmongering from rivals

• India's ₹3,030-crore chemical parks bet: infrastructure is the easy part India · Industrial policy · Ilmaz Syed · 25 October 2026

  BHAVYA Rasayan will build three parks to cut chemical imports. Experts say anchor investors and lab-to-plant support will decide if it works.

• Russian diesel reprieve helps India, but Washington's volatility will not always favour New Delhi India–US · Energy diplomacy · Ilmaz Syed · 25 October 2026

  Trump's U-turn on Russian oil eases pressure on India-US ties and the trade deal. The next swing may not be so kind.

• The Missile and the Barrel: How Houthi Attacks Can Hit India’s Economy STRATEGIC AFFAIRS · Raisina Wire · 25 October 2026

  Disruption around the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz can raise the cost of imported oil, freight and insurance, placing pressure on the rupee, inflation and household budgets. The challenge is to turn maritime vulnerability into a national economic-security priority.

• Karakoram 2026: Inside China–Pakistan’s Expanding Military Partnership in Xinjiang ASIA DEFENCE : CHINA PAK TIES · Raisina Wire · 25 October 2026

  The first joint army training exercise between China and Pakistan marks a significant step in bilateral defence cooperation. From drone operations and live-fire drills to integrated command exercises, the training highlights a growing emphasis on interoperability—with implications for India and the wider regional security environment.

• US State Secretary visits Jamnagar Refinery: Energy in Focus India US Strategic Ties · Ilmaz Syed · 25 October 2026

  Rubio’s Unusual India Visit Signals a Changing India–US Equation: Strategy Gives Way to Transactions?

• FRANCE ON EDGE: 70,000 SECURITY PERSONNEL DEPLOY AS PROTESTS TEST MACRON GOVERNMENT France Student Protests · Raisina Wire · 25 October 2026

  Student anger over deteriorating education conditions has evolved into a wider confrontation over the cost of living, public order and the right to protest — six months before France’s presidential election.

• Shadow War: Is the CIA Using Mercenaries to Destabilize India’s Northeast? Northeast · Security · Ilmaz Syed · 18 March 2026

  An operation at Kolkata and Delhi airports, and what it signals about foreign actors on India’s soil.

• The “Iron Dome” of the East: Why Kolkata is Becoming India’s Strategic Nerve Center for 2026 Eastern India · Strategy · Ilmaz Syed · 15 February 2026

  Kolkata is no longer in the rear. It is the command, intelligence and logistical anchor that ensures the frontlines move forward.

• The Dhaka Reset: Tarique Rahman’s Landslide, the Jamaat Shadow, and India’s High-Stakes Border Security Bangladesh · Border security · Ilmaz Syed · 14 February 2026

  Bangladesh has spoken. What the shift in Dhaka means for radicalisation networks and infiltration along India’s border.

• Delhi’s Red Line: Inside the ‘Jamaat-MIM’ Pincer and R&AW’s Explosive Message to Tarique Rahman Bangladesh · Intelligence · Ilmaz Syed · 14 February 2026

  While the world watches the return of Tarique Rahman, New Delhi is looking at a much more dangerous map.

• How India is Redefining Geopolitical Deterrence Without Firing a Single Bullet South Asia · Deterrence · Ilmaz Syed · 8 February 2026

  Economic leverage, technology and “invisible” weaponry: India is no longer merely reacting to provocations.

• The 135-Minute Midnight Call: Why Gen. Naravane’s Stalled Memoir is Shaking the Indian Establishment Defence · Civil–military · Ilmaz Syed · 5 February 2026

  Why an unpublished memoir by a former Army chief brought proceedings in Parliament to a halt.

• The CIA’s Invisible Front: Decoding the Narrative Warfare Targeting India’s Global Rise Information environment · Ilmaz Syed · 4 February 2026

  Warfare is no longer only tanks, missiles and boots on the ground. Reading the narratives aimed at India.

• Is Pakistan Facing Its 1971 Moment? The Unraveling of Balochistan and the End of the CPEC Dream Pakistan · Balochistan · Ilmaz Syed · 1 February 2026

  A seismic shift on South Asia’s map, and what it means for the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.