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The week in Global Affairs
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The US-Iran confrontation widened from strikes near Hormuz to attacks on Gulf states, commercial tankers, and Iranian energy infrastructure. Shipping fell as Tehran threatened an exclusion zone, while sanctions, allied involvement, energy risks, economic strain, and US interceptor shortages raised the conflict’s costs and escalation risks.
Washington moved from expanded Chevron operations to a much broader arrangement covering fields, investment, debt, and production. The opening gained financial momentum but faced damaged infrastructure, contested governance, sovereignty concerns, and scrutiny over politically connected insiders.
Israeli operations and violence continued across Gaza and the West Bank while Israel entrenched its position in southern Lebanon. Rising civilian deaths, attacks on medical workers, settler violence, disputed aid policies, and US criticism deepened the humanitarian and diplomatic crisis.
Suspected Russian-linked incidents expanded from an explosive drone at Leipzig airport to disruptions involving European infrastructure. Germany, the EU, and NATO increasingly treated sabotage and hybrid attacks as a persistent security problem, while officials warned that weak deterrence left critical sites exposed.
The AfD advanced from seeking a historic state-level majority to winning Saxony-Anhalt without enough seats to govern alone. The result pressured Germany’s political firewall and mainstream coalition strategy despite the party’s extremist classification in the region.
China blocked consensus at the G20 as trade and Iran-war disputes sharpened, while Trump and Xi approached a meeting under domestic and economic pressure. The SCO and parallel China-Russia-Iran coordination showed growing space for non-Western groupings outside the US-led system.
US envoys opened a new channel with Moscow and Kyiv, briefly coinciding with a pause in some strikes. The talks produced no ceasefire or agreement because territorial, security, and war-ending disputes remained unresolved.
Trump conditioned possible US support for Britain on its position over Iran, giving Argentina’s sovereignty campaign new leverage. Argentina then threatened sanctions against companies developing Falklands oil, turning the dispute toward a sharper energy and diplomatic confrontation.
Day’s Recap