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The week in Global Affairs
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The campaign ran in both directions: Russia escalated missile and drone attacks on Kyiv, while Ukraine expanded strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and territory. Russia also hardened territorial aims, but Ukrainian attacks coincided with stalled advances and mounting pressure on defenses and the war economy.
The US-Iran channel moved from an announced pause to mediated contacts in Doha, even as attacks and wide differences limited its scope. Concern that Israel might target Iranian negotiators showed how fragile the escalation-management track remained.
After Ali Khamenei’s death, Iran used tightly controlled, mass funerals to project continuity, but Mojtaba Khamenei’s public absence and revenge chants kept the transition unsettled.
The truce restored Saudi exports and reopened some tanker traffic, but a US-protected corridor and warnings of mines showed that Hormuz remained only partially usable. Iran’s offshore crude buildup added evidence that the conflict was still disrupting oil sales.
Israel accelerated settlement plans and changes to access and administration in Gaza and the West Bank. The week’s attention to 13 new West Bank settlements and the possibility of Gaza settlements showed that permanent territorial change was becoming a central concern.
The RSF’s push for el-Obeid put a strategic hub and supply routes at risk, while an urgent UN rights meeting and an allegation of crimes against humanity in el-Fasher broadened concern from battlefield control to civilian protection.
Day’s Recap