What is the ultimate objective of Netanyahu?

If we strip away the diplomatic language and look at Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza through the lens of political strategy rather than morality, the objectives many analysts see are not just about “defense” — they align with a set of long-term political, security, and ideological goals.

Here’s how many observers interpret what he seeks to attain:

Erase or cripple Palestinian political sovereignty

By devastating Gaza’s infrastructure, governance, and population capacity, Netanyahu can make any future independent Palestinian state nearly impossible to sustain. This aligns with the position of many in his coalition who reject a two-state solution entirely.

Consolidate his own political survival

Netanyahu has faced massive protests, corruption trials, and political instability. War shifts the national focus to “security,” rallying his right-wing base and delaying domestic accountability.

Cement Israel’s control over territory

By depopulating or making parts of Gaza uninhabitable, Israel could increase its long-term security buffer and limit the demographic growth of Palestinians near its borders.

Appease ultranationalist coalition partners

His government depends on far-right figures who openly call for resettling Gaza with Israelis and removing large numbers of Palestinians. Maintaining their support keeps his fragile coalition in power.

Send a deterrent message regionally

By showing overwhelming force, Netanyahu signals to Hezbollah, Iran, and other adversaries that challenges to Israel will be met with total military dominance.

Align with Zionist ideology

Some in Netanyahu’s camp believe a “Greater Israel” — without a viable Palestinian state — is the only acceptable outcome. The destruction of Gaza is seen as a step toward making that reality irreversible.

Moral of the story

It may be concluded that the genocide accusation isn’t just about punishing Hamas; it’s about shaping a future where Palestinian political and demographic influence is permanently weakened, while Netanyahu secures his political survival and cements an ideological vision.

 

Iran seizes tanker carrying diesel

In a blow to organized fuel smuggling networks, Iranian Border Guard Commander Brigadier General Ahmadali Goudarzi announced the interception of an oil tanker carrying over 2 million liters of illicit diesel in the Persian Gulf’s exclusive economic zone.

The operation, conducted in collaboration with the naval forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh), led to the arrest of 17 foreign nationals.

Goudarzi emphasized in a Monday interview that border guards in Hormozgan province leveraged comprehensive intelligence monitoring, electronic surveillance systems, and aerial reconnaissance to identify the vessel Phoenix—flagged under a third country—before it could exit Iranian waters.

"Through coordinated operational planning with the Navy, we immobilized and inspected this tanker," he stated, noting the seizure represents the heaviest financial blow to smuggling syndicates this year.

The detained suspects have been transferred to legal authorities in Jask for prosecution.

Goudarzi credited the success to the enhanced military-defensive synergy among armed forces across Iran’s maritime and land borders, which has systematically dismantled smuggling networks exploiting regional waters.

Iran has consistently demonstrated its role in supporting the security and stability of the Persian Gulf—a vital waterway through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil flows.

Through the use of advanced monitoring technologies such as drones and coastal radar, alongside agile maritime units, Iran aims to contribute to a secure environment that safeguards regional peace, facilitates global trade, and protects its economic interests.

Iran’s commitment to maritime security extends beyond combating smuggling. The Islamic Republic has played a pivotal role in ensuring the safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which a significant portion of the world’s oil passes. Iran’s naval forces have consistently acted to deter piracy and protect international shipping lanes.

 

India: Calls to boycott US goods

From McDonald's and Coca-Cola to Amazon and Apple, US-based multinationals are facing calls for a boycott in India as business executives and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's supporters stoke anti-American sentiment to protest against US tariffs, reports Reuters.

India, the world's most populous nation, is a key market for American brands that have rapidly expanded to target a growing base of affluent consumers, many of whom remain infatuated with international labels seen as symbols of moving up in life.

India, for example, is the biggest market by users for Meta's WhatsApp and Domino's has more restaurants than any other brand in the country. Beverages like Pepsi and Coca-Cola often dominate store shelves, and people still queue up when a new Apple store opens or a Starbucks cafe doles out discounts.

Although there was no immediate indication of sales being hit, there's a growing chorus both on social media and offline to buy local and ditch American products after Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on goods from India, rattling exporters and damaging ties between New Delhi and Washington.

Manish Chowdhary, co-founder of India's Wow Skin Science, took to LinkedIn with a video message urging support for farmers and startups to make "Made in India" a "global obsession," and to learn from South Korea whose food and beauty products are famous worldwide.

"We have lined up for products from thousands of miles away. We have proudly spent on brands that we don't own, while our own makers fight for attention in their own country," he said.

Rahm Shastry, CEO of India's DriveU, which provides a car driver on call service, wrote on LinkedIn: "India should have its own home-grown Twitter/ Google/ YouTube/ WhatsApp/ FB -- like China has."

To be fair, Indian retail companies give foreign brands like Starbucks stiff competition in the domestic market, but going global has been a challenge.

Indian IT services firms, however, have become deeply entrenched in the global economy, with the likes of TCS and Infosys providing software solutions to clients world over.

On Sunday, Modi made a "special appeal" for becoming self-reliant, telling a gathering in Bengaluru that Indian technology companies made products for the world but "now is the time for us to give more priority to India's needs."

 

 

 

 

 

Israel kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza

According to Reuters, a prominent Al Jazeera journalist, who had previously been threatened by Israel, was killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in an attack condemned by journalists and rights groups.

Israeli military said it targeted and killed Anas Al Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas militant cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel.

Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari government, rejected the assertion, and before his death, Al Sharif had also rejected such claims by Israel.

"Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world," Al Jazeera said.

Al Sharif, 28, was among a group of four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant who died in an airstrike on a tent near Al Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, Gaza officials and Al Jazeera said. An official at the hospital said two other people were killed in the strike.

A sixth journalist, Mohammad Al-Khaldi, a local freelance reporter, was also killed in the strike, medics at Al Shifa Hospital said on Monday.

Calling Al Sharif "one of Gaza's bravest journalists," Al Jazeera said the attack was a "desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza."

The other journalists killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal, Al Jazeera said.

"The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination," Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said on X.

The UN human rights office condemned the killing of the journalists, saying the actions by Israel's military represented a "grave breach of international humanitarian law" as Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks.

Its post on social media platform X was accompanied by a photograph of flattened blue tents next to a bullet-ridden wall in Gaza City.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is "gravely concerned" about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza, his spokesperson said.

Israel denies deliberately targeting journalists. It says many of those killed in Israeli airstrikes were members of Islamist militant groups, working under the guise of the press.

 

Trump threats to India may prove hoax calls

The crude oil market's rather sanguine reaction to the US threats to India over its continued purchases of Russian oil is effectively a bet that very little will actually happen, reports Reuters.

President Donald Trump cited India's imports of Russian crude when imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India on August 06, which is due to take effect on August 28.

If the new tariff rate does come into place, it will take the rate for some Indian goods to as much as 50%, a level high enough to effectively end US imports from India, which totalled nearly US$87 billion in 2024.

As with everything related to Trump, it pays to be cautious given his track record of backflips and pivots.

It's also not exactly clear what Trump is ultimately seeking, although it does seem that in the short term he wants to increase his leverage with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of their planned meeting in Alaska this week, and he's using India to achieve this.

Whether Trump follows through on his additional tariffs on India remains uncertain, although the chances of a peace deal in Ukraine seem remote, which means the best path for India to avoid the tariffs would be to acquiesce and stop buying Russian oil.

But this is an outcome that simply isn't being reflected in current crude oil prices.

Global benchmark Brent futures have weakened since Trump's announcement of higher tariffs on India, dropping as low as US$65.81 a barrel in early Asian trade on Monday, the lowest level in two months.

This is a price that entirely discounts any threat to global supplies, and assumes that India will either continue buying Russian crude at current volumes, or be able to easily source suitable replacements without tightening the global market.

The track record of the crude oil market is somewhat remarkable in that it quickly adapts to new geopolitical realities and any price spikes tend to be short-lived.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent crude prices hurtling toward US$150 a barrel as European and other Western countries pulled back from buying Russian crude.

But what Trump is proposing now is somewhat different. It appears he wants to cut Russian barrels out of the market in order to put financial pressure on Moscow to cut a deal over Ukraine.

There are effectively only two major buyers for Russian crude, India and China.

China, the world's biggest crude importer, has more leverage with Trump given US and Western reliance on its refined critical and other minerals, and therefore is less able to be coerced into ending its imports of Russian oil.

India is in a less strong position, especially private refiners like Reliance Industries which will want to keep business relationships and access to Western economies.

India imported about 1.8 million barrels per day of Russian crude in the first half of the year, or about 37% of its total, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler.

About 90% of its Russian imports came from Russia's European ports and was mainly Urals grade.

This is a medium sour crude and it would raise challenges for Indian refiners if they sought to replace all their Urals imports with similar grades from other suppliers.

There are some Middle Eastern grades of similar quality, such as Saudi Arabia's Arab Light and Iraq's Basrah Light, but it would likely boost prices if India were to seek more of these crudes.

If Chinese refiners were able to take the bulk of Russian crude given up by India, it may allow for a re-shuffling of flows, but that would not appear to be what Trump wants.

Trump and his advisers may believe there is enough spare crude production capacity in the United States and elsewhere to handle the loss of up to 2 million bpd of Russian supplies.

But testing that theory may well lead to higher prices, especially for certain types of medium crudes which would be in short supply.

It's simplistic to say that higher US output can supply India's refiners, as this would mean those refiners would have to be willing to accept a different mix of refined products, including producing less diesel, as US light crudes tend to make more products such as gasoline.

For now the crude oil market is assuming that the Trump/ India/ Russia situation will end as another TACO, the acronym for Trump Always Chickens Out.

But the reality is likely to be slightly messier, as some Indian refiners pull back from importing from Russia, some Chinese refiners may buy more and once again the oil market goes on a geopolitical merry-go-round.

  

Rally against Netanyahu's new Gaza plan

According to Reuters thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to escalate the nearly two-year Gaza war, demanding an immediate end to the campaign and for the release of the hostages.

A day earlier, the prime minister’s office said the security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger the hostages.

"This isn't just a military decision. It could be a death sentence for the people we love most," Lishay Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran told the rally, pleading to US President Donald Trump to intervene to immediately end the war.

Public opinion polls show an overwhelming majority of Israelis favour an immediate end to the war to secure the release of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza. Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages are still alive.

The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would expand the war. The full cabinet is expected to give its approval as soon as Sunday.

Most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July.

"They (the government) are fanatic. They are doing things against the interests of the country," said Rami Dar, 69-year-old retiree, who traveled from a nearby suburb outside of Tel Aviv, echoing calls for Trump to force a deal for the hostages.

Tel Aviv has seen frequent rallies urging the government to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, who ignited the war with their October 2023 attack. Saturday's demonstration attracted over 100,000 protesters, according to organizers.

"Frankly, I'm not an expert or anything, but I feel that after two years of fighting there has been no success," said Yana, 45, who attended the rally with her husband and two children. "I wonder whether additional lives for both sides, not just the Israelis but also Gazans, will make any difference."

India faces US sanction in disguise

The United States has increased its tariff on certain Indian imports from 25% to 50%. President Donald Trump has called this new measure a “secondary” tariff, a term that is not formally used in trade policy but is similar to what is known in sanctions law.

Secondary sanctions are penalties placed on third parties that are seen as supporting actions the sanctioning country opposes. For example, if a US bank, port, shipping company, or other business is prohibited from dealing with the Russian financial system, a secondary sanction could make it illegal for non-US entities to engage in similar transactions as well, reports Bloomberg.

India is affected because the tariff is linked to its purchases of Russian oil. The stated goal of the measure is to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine. If that goal is not achieved, it is uncertain what additional steps the US might take toward India, which is currently the largest buyer of Russian seaborne crude oil.

The idea of calling the tariff “secondary” is unusual, but the US also has more conventional tools for sanctions, such as the Specially Designated Nationals list managed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in the Treasury Department.

State-owned Indian refiners are already pulling back from the Russian trade. If they start showing up on the SDN list, it would become difficult for others to do business with them. No amount of nationalistic bluster can mitigate the seriousness of that threat. To lose access to the US currency or the Western-controlled banking system would be a far bigger setback than a 50% tariff. Even large Indian tycoons will not want to needle Trump. Russian crude has been the biggest source of oil for Mukesh Ambani’s refinery this year. His rival billionaire Gautam Adani doesn’t have any exposure to oil, but he has existing legal trouble with the US government. He also has a vast port network to protect, reports Bloomberg.

What’s the way out then? In an interview with Reuters, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who’s also been handed penal tariffs of 50%, floated a trial balloon: a joint response by BRICS. Modi, who spoke on the phone with Lula for nearly an hour Thursday, is expected to head to China this month — for the first time in seven years. Marshaling a unified front to challenge Trump’s overreach might make sense to Lula, but ratcheting up the confrontation with Washington should hold no appeal for Modi.

Brazil’s biggest export market is China, with whom it has a US$49 billion trade surplus. India, on the other hand, sells just about $32 billion annually to Brazil, Russia and China — combined. The US buys nearly three times as much from it, in addition to providing tens of thousands of work visas each year to Indian techies. Washington also controls the student-visa pipeline for — amongst others — children of local politicians, bureaucrats, tycoons and bankers. Even if Modi wants to go on a collision course with Trump, the elite wouldn’t let him, reports Bloomberg.

Team Modi must switch its focus. What started off as a US-China trade and technology war has turned into a much bigger play for absolute American dominance. There is no point now in negotiating a discount on the 25% reciprocal tariff. Let that be handled as part of a broader trade deal. Getting the secondary tax cancelled in Trump’s three-week grace period has to be the more immediate goal.

Even if Modi succeeds in that limited objective, his political opponents won’t let him run a victory lap. “India, please understand: The reason Modi cannot stand up to President Trump despite his repeated threats is the ongoing US investigation into Adani,” Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition in parliament, wrote in a post on X. He went on to say that Modi’s hands are tied by AA. Gandhi, who often questions the outsize economic dominance of Ambani and Adani, refers to them in shorthand as AA — or A1 and A2.

Adani, the infrastructure czar, is facing criminal charges in the US for his alleged role in what the Department of Justice has described as a US$250 million bribery scheme involving a solar-energy contract. The Adani Group has refuted the allegations as baseless and said it’s fully compliant with all laws. It also denied a Wall Street Journal article in June that said that US prosecutors are investigating whether Adani’s companies imported Iranian liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, into India through his flagship Mundra port, violating sanctions.

The businessman from Modi’s home state of Gujarat also denies receiving any favors from the government because of his long association with the prime minister. During his visit to the White House in February, Modi, who doesn’t comment on Adani at home, described the tycoon’s legal troubles as a “personal matter” that doesn’t belong to discussions between national leaders. This week, Adani stepped back from his role as executive chairman of the port business, which controls Israel’s Haifa terminal and is looking to expand in Europe. The company said the transition to a non-executive role, in which Adani will no longer count among key management personnel, was to ensure compliance with corporate governance norms. It “was long planned.”

The secondary tariff is just Trump-speak for a display of America’s power over non-Americans. Ambani’s oil-refining business is trying to diversify away from Russia, One of his units has paid a US$10 million “development fee” to the president’s real-estate firm, licensing the Trump name in Mumbai, according to the WSJ.

There is no other option. Trade disputes can still be taken to the World Trade Organization. In the realm of sanctions, might is the only rule — and the dollar the only currency. The likes of Lula and Modi can protest the former as much as they want, but no savvy businessman in their countries can do without the latter.