Beijing / Washington – In the corridors of Zhongnanhai, the word being used most frequently right now is wending stability. As President Donald Trump prepares for what diplomats on both sides are billing as a crucial visit that could reshape the trajectory of the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship, Beijing has shifted into a mode…
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No country on earth has more economic leverage over Iran than China. Beijing buys roughly 90% of Iran’s oil exports, bankrolls its sanctions-battered economy, and has now become the most strategically important diplomatic player between Washington and Tehran. Yet analysts and officials are increasingly clear: China will only use that leverage to push for a…
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Washington / Tehran – It was supposed to be maximum pressure done right. Donald Trump returned to the White House with a clear Iran strategy: squeeze Tehran economically until it had no choice but to negotiate, back that pressure with credible military threat, and walk away with a deal bigger and better than anything the…
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The US and Iran are closer to ending their war than at any point since the conflict began with senior officials on both sides quietly converging on a one-page memorandum of understanding that could halt hostilities, launch nuclear negotiations, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping. Multiple sources familiar with the talks confirmed…
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Washington / Tehran – In what diplomats are calling the most significant breakthrough moment since hostilities escalated, Iran is preparing to formally respond to a sweeping US Peace Proposal and senior officials on both sides say that response could arrive as early as Thursday. The development marks a dramatic potential turning point in the us…
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Just 24 hours after launching one of the most ambitious naval operations in recent American history, President Donald Trump hit the pause button on “Project Freedom” crediting Pakistan’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy and claiming “great progress” toward a final deal with Iran, even as the US naval blockade of the strait remains locked in place. In breaking…
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Washington / Tel Aviv – As the Iran-Israel war continues to dominate global headlines, former and now-returned U.S. President Donald Trump has broken his silence on one of the most consequential and least understood decisions of the escalating Israel-Iran conflict: why he ordered a pause on a planned U.S. military operation targeting Iran’s access to…
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On the morning of February 28, 2026, 105 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz a tight but unremarkable day for one of the most trafficked maritime chokepoints on Earth. By March 2, that number had crashed to 13. Within weeks, the strait of Hormuz traffic had all but vanished from tracking screens worldwide. What…
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Washington, D.C. – May 6, 2026 When Pentagon press briefings start fielding questions about “kamikaze dolphins,” you know something remarkable is unfolding in global geopolitics. Last week, that is precisely what happened and the answers offered a rare, unfiltered glimpse into one of the US military’s most secretive and fascinating programs: the US Navy Marine…
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May 6, 2026 | Defense & Diplomacy It lasted exactly one day. Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump launched Project Freedom his signature military operation to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz he hit pause. But make no mistake about what that pause does and does not mean. The Hormuz ship…