Middle East

Maleka Hasan Fire spreads across the Middle East while trusted voices fade. Not because of loud failures but quiet withdrawals. Qatar pulled thin, Ankara stretched beyond reach. Beijing trades access for advantage, nothing more. Washington shifts with every political gust, especially when led by figures like Trump. Yet …

Yen Mo The Iran war has been going on for nearly three weeks, and one question that keeps coming up is, “Why isn’t China actively stepping in to mediate this conflict, which is harmful to the global economy—and to its own interests as well?” The answer is very …

CAITLYN RIPAZEL NAMORA On 29 December 2025, more than 130 Chinese military aircraft and drones filled the airspace surrounding Taiwan. Destroyers, frigates, coast guard vessels, and rocket units were deployed from multiple directions. Seven temporary danger zones were established around the Taiwan Strait. More than 100,000 international passengers …

The modern international system is no longer characterized by the conflicts based on the territorial boundaries but the tensions concerning the strategic routes that support the global economy. Among them, there is a revival of maritime chokepoints as an essential arena of power rivalry. The more recent uproar …

The postponement of a high-stakes summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping is more than a scheduling delay. It is a signal—quiet but consequential—that global diplomacy is being reordered by war. What was meant to be a carefully choreographed meeting in Beijing, following cautiously optimistic trade talks in …

The war between Iran, the United States, and Israel has crossed a dangerous threshold. What was once framed as a contained confrontation has now spilled decisively into the Gulf, as Tehran expands its strikes to include U.S.-aligned states. Attacks on energy infrastructure in Fujairah and Abu Dhabi are …

Saudi Arabia has positioned itself at the center of regional diplomacy as it hosts a high-level consultative meeting of foreign ministers from across the Arab and Islamic world in Riyadh. The aim is clear: to address the growing instability unleashed by the ongoing conflict with Iran—a war that …

Since February 28, a coordinated series of strikes by the United States and Israel has targeted the upper echelons of Iran’s leadership, representing one of the most significant and deliberate assaults on the Islamic Republic in decades. These operations, carried out amid ongoing nuclear talks mediated by Oman, …

Abdulla Al Junaid Capturing the Kharg, Qeshm, Abu Musa, and Tunb Islands would untangle Tehran’s stranglehold on the Persian Gulf. The ongoing US-Israeli operations against Iran, while so far tactically successful, will not achieve Iran’s capitulation unless Tehran loses its most potent weapon: control over the Strait of …