Iran war LIVE: LPG tanker Shivalik arrives in Gujarat after crossing Strait of Hormuz

Trump: 'Iran literally obliterated'

“Our powerful military campaign against the Iranian regime has continued in full force... They have been literally obliterated. The Air Force is gone. The Navy is gone... Other than that, they're doing quite well,” said US President Donald Trump.

BJP president Nitin Nabin, CM Nitish Kumar, 3 other NDA candidates win RS polls in Bihar

BJP president Nitin Nabin, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and three other NDA candidates on Monday won the Rajya Sabha elections in the state, an official said.

Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), BJP leader Shivesh Kumar and Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha also emerged victorious, said Khyati Singh, the Secretary of Vidhan Sabha, who is also the Returning Officer for Rajya Sabha polls.

Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary thanked all MLAs of the NDA, which occupies 202 seats of the 243-strong assembly, for voting in favour of the BJP-led coalition.

With numbers comfortably in favour of the NDA for four seats and marginally short for the fifth, the Opposition forced an election by fielding RJD’s Amarendra Dhari Singh.

RS polls: BJP-backed Dilip Ray wins in Odisha; Congress to meet CEC over vote-counting in Haryana

With over a dozen MLAs from Naveen Patnaik's BJD and the Congress party cross-voting in his favour, BJP-backed Dilip Ray wins Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha. Datteswar Hota, former vice chancellor of the Orissa University of Health Sciences, who was the BJD-Congress joint candidate for the 4th RS seat from the state has been defeated.

Bihar

In Bihar, RJD leader and INDIA bloc candidate AD Singh has also been defeated due to cross-voting/abstention of MLAs from the Congress and the RJD. BJP's Shivesh Ram has won the fifth vacant seat, which the INDIA bloc's AD Singh had hoped to win.

Haryana

In Haryana, counting of votes for the second RS seat has been halted following protests by Congress MLAs. The Congress had fielded Karamvir Boudh for the election and had the MLAs required to ensure a smooth victory. However, the BJP's decision to back independent candidate Satish Nandal for the polls had forced an election for the second seat. The BJP's Sanjay Bhatia has won unopposed for the first seat.

Meanwhile, Congress delegation is set to meet Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in Delhi. This is in connection with the counting of votes for the Haryana Rajya Sabha polls. Abhishek Manu Singhvi is leading the Congress delegation to present the party's case and objections.

The party alleged there is an attempt to interfere with the integrity of the election.

"It must be stopped/redressed by the ECI immediately. Furthermore, no disqualification of our legitimate voters/votes cast can be allowed in what is clearly a transparent attempt to taint/derail the process," the party's president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote in a letter to CEC.

The BJP has demanded that 2 votes cast by Congress MLAs in the Haryana RS polls for Congress candidate Karamvir Boudh be declared void.

Rijiju to move motion in LS tomorrow for revoking suspension of 8 Opposition MPs

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to move a motion in Lok Sabha at noon tomorrow for revoking suspension of 8 Opposition MPs. The MPs, 7 from the Congress and one from CPM, had been suspended for the entire Budget session on February 3 for protesting in the House during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address.

INDIA bloc leaders had been demanding since for the suspension to be revoked. Today, at a meeting attended by floor leaders of various parties, Rijiju and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Opposition reiterated its demand for revoking the suspension while the Speaker and the Treasury urged the Opposition to stop disrupting House proceedings with slogans, showing of placards and by storming into the Well of the House. Both sides agreed and Rijiju has assured the Opposition that he will move the motion seeking revocation of suspension of the 8 MPs at noon tomorrow.

LPG tanker Shivalik arrives in Gujarat

LPG tanker Shivalik on Monday arrived at Mundra Port in Gujarat after safely crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war. The LPG tanker belongs to Shipping Corporation of India (SCI).

No ceasefire request from Iran yet, says FM Araqchi amid Israel-US conflict

Iran has not requested a ceasefire, foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday, according to the semi-official Students News Network cited by Reuters, adding that Tehran wants any end to the war with Israel and the United States to be definitive.

Araqchi also added that the Strait of Hormuz is only closed to “enemies and those supporting their aggression”.

A foreign ministry spokesperson added that countries not party to the conflict have been able to transit their vessels through the strait with coordination and permission from Iran’s armed forces.

Israeli military says 70 per cent of Iranian launchers destroyed

The Israeli military says it has destroyed an estimated 70 per cent of Iran's missile launchers during the first two weeks of the war.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters Monday that while Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel, the number of launches has been greatly reduced. He says Israel has carried out some 7,600 strikes in Iran, knocking out 85 per cent of Iran's air defences and targeting a number of Iranian nuclear sites.

Shoshani says the war will continue “for as long as needed”, adding that Israel still has thousands of targets prepared for strikes.

India evacuates over 550 nationals from Iran; Jaishankar thanks Armenia for support

India has evacuated over 550 of its nationals from Iran through Armenia, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanking Yerevan on Monday for facilitating the land-border transit.

New Delhi has been urging Indian nationals stuck in Iran to cross over to Armenia for subsequent travel to India in view of the escalating conflict in West Asia.

“Thank the Government and the people of Armenia for facilitating the safe evacuation of over 550 Indian nationals from Iran so far,” Jaishankar, currently on a visit to Brussels, said. “Appreciate their support in these challenging times,” he said on social media.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last week that around 9,000 Indians were staying in Iran, and the government of India is assisting those who want to travel to Azerbaijan and Armenia for their subsequent return to India.

“These 9,000 Indian nationals comprise students; they also comprise seafarers, some business people, some professionals, and some pilgrims,” he had said.

India has already shifted several Indian nationals, including students and pilgrims, from Tehran to other safer locations and cities in Iran. 

India asks its citizens not to cross Iran's border without coordination with embassy

India on Monday asked its citizens currently in Iran not to approach or attempt to cross any land border for onward travel without prior and explicit coordination with the Indian Embassy in Tehran.

In an advisory, the Indian Embassy further said that Indian nationals who attempt to leave Iran via land borders without its knowledge and guidance are highly likely to encounter serious logistical and immigration difficulties.

"...All Indian nationals currently in Iran are strictly advised not to approach or attempt to cross any land border of Iran for onward travel without prior and explicit coordination with the Embassy of India," the advisory said.

It said the embassy will not be in a position to provide assistance once individuals move outside Iranian territory without prior coordination.

"The Embassy is in regular contact with members of the Indian community, and coordinated arrangements are being undertaken wherever necessary. Uncoordinated movement toward land borders is strongly discouraged," it added.

The mission urged the Indian nationals in Iran to strictly follow its advisories and remain in touch with official channels and before undertaking any travel.

The embassy also posted helpline numbers that Indian nationals could reach out to in case of travel-related queries or emergencies - Telephone: +98 912 810 9115, +98 912 810 9102, +98 9128109109, +98 993 217 9359; E-mail: [email protected].

EU weighs action to keep Strait of Hormuz open

The European Union said on Monday it will consider how to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open as energy and commodity prices rise in the third week of war between Iran, Israel and the United States.

“It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and that's why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, ahead of a meeting of the 27-nation bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

US President Donald Trump has asked allies - including France, China, Japan, South Korea and Britain - to help secure the strait for global shipping.

Kallas said the EU could expand its Aspides naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea up into the Persian Gulf, or it could form a “coalition of the willing” with member nations contributing military capacity on an ad hoc basis.

The war in Iran, sparked on Feb. 28, airstrikes by Israel and the US, has driven up energy prices worldwide, with Brent crude up more than 40 per cent. But the conflict has also disrupted the wider global supply chain beyond oil, affecting everything from pharmaceuticals from India, semiconductors from Asia and oil-derived products like fertilisers that come from the Middle East.

Cargo ships are stuck in the Gulf or making a much longer detour around the southern tip of Africa. Planes carrying air cargo out of the Middle East are grounded. And the longer the war drags on, the more likely it is that there will be shortages and price increases on a wide range of goods.