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The Hindu Editorial Analysis
We understand the significance of reading The Hindu newspaper for enhancing reading skills, improving comprehension of passages, staying informed about current events, enhancing essay writing, and more, especially for banking aspirants who need to focus on editorials for vocabulary building. This article will explore today’s editorial points, along with practice questions and key vocabulary.
Iran Says It Won’t Attack Neighbours, Refuses to Surrender
- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that Iran will not attack neighbouring countries in West Asia unless attacks against Iran start from their land. However, he clearly said that Iran will never surrender in its war against the United States and Israel, even though U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Iran was “being beaten to hell” and warned that military attacks could become even stronger.
- As the war entered its eighth day, Israeli and U.S. forces carried out several attacks inside Iran, mainly targeting Iran’s Air Force bases and facilities. In response, Iran fired at least eight rounds of missiles toward Israel since midnight. Even though Pezeshkian promised that neighbouring countries would not be attacked, reports said that some Arab countries were still hit by drone and missile strikes.
- In a televised speech, Pezeshkian said that Iran has never planned and will never plan to invade any neighbouring country. He added that Iran wants to work together with regional neighbours and what he called “dear brothers” to bring long-lasting peace and stability in West Asia.
- He also said that Iran’s interim leadership council decided that neighbouring countries will not be targeted unless those countries first attack Iran. This information was reported by Iranian state media.
- Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Army Headquarters also released a statement saying that Iran respects the independence and sovereignty of neighbouring countries and has not attacked them.
- However, the same statement warned that all military bases and interests of the United States and Israel in the region—whether on land, in the sea, or in the air—will be treated as legitimate targets for strong attacks by Iran’s armed forces.
- On Friday, Donald Trump rejected the idea of making any deal with Iran’s leadership and demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”
- Pezeshkian replied strongly and said that Iran will never surrender, adding that Iran’s enemies will take the dream of Iran’s surrender “to their grave.” This was reported in translations of his speech shared by state media.
- Later, Pezeshkian posted several messages on social media supporting Iran’s military response. He wrote that Iran will stand firm “till the last breath” to defend the country. He also said that Iran’s military actions are aimed only at places that start or support attacks against Iran, which Iran considers legitimate targets.
- On Saturday, Trump again claimed that Iran was “being beaten to hell” and had almost surrendered. He also said that Iran promised not to attack neighbouring countries only because of continuous U.S. and Israeli military strikes.
- Trump also claimed that Iran had been trying to control and rule the Middle East, and said that for the first time in thousands of years Iran had lost against other Middle Eastern countries.
- The United States Central Command said that U.S. forces had attacked more than 3,000 targets during the first week of an operation called “Operation Epic Fury.” It also made clear that the military campaign will continue and will not slow down.
- Neither side showed any sign of stopping the conflict, and attacks and counter-attacks continued throughout the day.
- The Israel Defense Forces reported that at least 16 aircraft belonging to Iran’s Quds Force were destroyed during Israeli airstrikes.
- In reply, Iran launched several waves of missiles toward central Israel, although Israeli officials said that the attacks did not cause any injuries.
- An Iranian Army spokesperson claimed that Iran’s retaliatory attacks during the past 24 hours had killed or injured 220 American soldiers and commanders, and also caused serious damage to U.S. military equipment and assets in the region.
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also said that it targeted an oil tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands in the waters of the Persian Gulf.
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of attacking a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island.
- Araghchi warned that attacking important infrastructure in Iran is a very dangerous step and could lead to serious consequences, and he argued that the United States was the one that started this kind of action.
- Because of the increasing conflict, the main airport in Dubai was temporarily closed on Saturday after Iran launched another round of missiles and drones toward targets across the Gulf region.
Cooking Gas Prices Rise Amid West Asia Crisis
- The price of domestic cooking gas (LPG) cylinders was increased by ₹60 on Saturday, while commercial LPG cylinders became costlier by ₹114.50. This decision led to strong criticism from Opposition parties against the Central government.
- More than 10 crore households who received LPG connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana will also have to pay the extra ₹60.
- After applying the ₹300 subsidy given for up to 12 refills every year, these beneficiaries will now pay ₹613 for a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder.
- Officials said that the price increase happened because global energy prices rose sharply, mainly due to the expanding conflict in West Asia, which disturbed the movement of oil and gas tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, an important route used by Gulf countries to export oil and gas.
- Government sources said that this increase is equal to about 20 paise per person per day. They also said that petrol and diesel prices will not be increased immediately.
- However, Opposition parties accused the government of putting more financial pressure on families who are already struggling with rising inflation.
- Mallikarjun Kharge, President of the Indian National Congress, said that the government has failed to protect people from rising prices. He also claimed that when global crude oil prices fell earlier, the government did not reduce fuel prices for the public.
- West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for protests on Sunday and raised concerns about the possible shortage or “unavailability” of gas cylinders.
- With the latest price increase, the cost of commercial LPG cylinders in Delhi has reached ₹1,883.
- Earlier, commercial LPG prices had already increased by ₹28 on March 1, which means commercial gas prices have risen by a total of ₹302.50 this year.
- Non-subsidised LPG, which most households use, will now cost ₹913 for a 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi, compared to the earlier price of ₹853, according to information from the Indian Oil Corporation website.
- The latest increase happened because global oil prices are rising due to supply problems in West Asia.
- Sources said that the price increase became necessary because of the sudden rise in global energy prices.
- They also explained that even after the new price increase, the domestic LPG price is still lower than the ₹1,050 per cylinder required to fully cover the actual cost.
- Government officials again said that petrol and diesel prices are unlikely to be raised immediately.
- State-owned oil companies had made strong profits earlier this year, so they currently have the financial ability to manage changes in global crude oil prices.
- Petrol and diesel retail prices have remained unchanged since April 2022, because fuel companies sometimes absorb losses when crude prices rise and recover them when global prices fall.
- India depends heavily on oil imports through the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly half of India’s crude oil imports and around 40% of its natural gas shipments pass through this narrow sea route.
- Because of fears of supply disruptions, the government used emergency powers to tell domestic oil refineries to increase LPG production so that gas supplies can be improved.
Balen Defeats Oli as RSP Nears Victory in Nepal
- Balendra Shah, the rapper-turned-politician widely known as Balen, defeated former Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli in the Jhapa-5 constituency, which is Oli’s home political area, by a large margin of 49,614 votes. This result is seen as a major and embarrassing defeat for the former Prime Minister.
- Balen Shah is now likely to become the next Prime Minister of Nepal, because his party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), is moving toward a massive victory in Thursday’s election.
- This election was the first national election held after last year’s Gen Z protests, which led to the fall of the Oli government.
- Balen, who is 35 years old, received 68,348 votes, while P. Sharma Oli received only 18,734 votes, making the contest one-sided from the beginning.
- The Jhapa-5 constituency had long been a strong political base for Oli, as the leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) had won six out of the seven elections held there since 1990.
- The rapid rise of the Rastriya Swatantra Party is widely believed to be the result of people’s support for a new political alternative, along with growing frustration toward traditional political parties and leaders, including Oli’s CPN-UML and the Nepali Congress.
- According to the latest election results, the Rastriya Swatantra Party has already won 59 seats and is leading in 62 out of the total 165 constituencies.
- The Nepali Congress is far behind, with nine seats won and leading in nine more constituencies.
- Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), led by Oli, has won only three seats and is leading in nine constituencies.
- Under the proportional representation voting system, the Rastriya Swatantra Party is far ahead with 256,680 votes (53%).
- The Nepali Congress has received 79,420 votes (16.59%), while the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) has received 63,003 votes (13%), out of 478,834 votes counted so far.
- Earlier on Saturday, Rabi Lamichhane, the leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, was declared the winner from Chitwan-2, after receiving 54,402 votes.
- He defeated Mina Kharel of the Nepali Congress by a large margin of 39,838 votes.
- This victory marks Lamichhane’s third consecutive election win since 2022, which was the same year when he founded the Rastriya Swatantra Party and contested his first election.
Important Questions
- Why did Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian say Iran will not attack neighbouring countries unless attacks against Iran start from neighbouring countries’ territory?
- What did United States President Donald Trump claim about Iran during the eighth day of the war between Iran, Israel, and the United States?
- Why did officials say domestic cooking gas (LPG) cylinder prices and commercial LPG cylinder prices were increased on Saturday?
- How did the conflict in West Asia and tanker disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz affect global energy prices and India’s LPG supply?
- How did Balendra Shah defeat former Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli in the Jhapa-5 constituency during the Nepal election?
- Why is the Rastriya Swatantra Party heading toward a landslide victory in Thursday’s Nepal election?
Important Vocabulary
- Surrender – To stop fighting and accept defeat.
- Sovereignty – The full power of a country to govern itself.
- Retaliatory – An action done as a response to an attack.
- Infrastructure – Important systems and facilities like roads, plants, and services.
- Subsidy – Money given by the government to reduce the price of something.
- Disruptions – Situations that stop something from continuing normally.
- Fluctuations – Frequent changes in price or level.
- Refineries – Factories where crude oil is processed to make fuel and gas.
- Constituency – An area whose voters elect a representative.
- Landslide – A victory by a very large number of votes.
- Frustration – A feeling of anger or disappointment.
- Proportional – Based on the size or share of votes received.
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