Key Takeaways Iran has not submitted a response to the latest US proposal as multiple mediators continue efforts to narrow gaps between the United States and Iran. Both US and Iranian officials said on May 21 that nuclear weapons and the Strait of Hormuz remain the two “sticking points” on …

Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office last January, analysts have debated whether he is pursuing a sphere of influence strategy—an approach by which great powers divide the world into privileged blocs, with little concern for the interests or preferences of the smaller states that those blocs subsume. In the …

Several representatives of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (DUM) were detained in the Russian regions. According to various publications and Telegram channels, the detentions were held in Moscow, Saransk, St. Petersburg and Saratov, Mordovia and Karelia. On Wednesday, May 20, this information was partially confirmed: it became known about the …

A year after the election of Friedrich Meritz as the tenth chancellor of Germany, he suddenly turned from an expected ally Trump into his key opponent and one of the leaders of the European confrontation of the United States. German-American and U.S.-European relations have found themselves at the lowest point …

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and flaring tensions in other nearby maritime chokepoints are reconfiguring global shipping. Amid the disruption, shipping companies have diverted their vessels to other, safer trade routes—or to other destinations entirely. At the same time, countries have raced to find sources of oil outside …

The continued use of shadow fleet and transshipment networks allow sanctioned countries to bypass energy sanctions, underscoring the need for stronger and more unified enforcement.Intensifying competition among sanctioned oil exporters for a shrinking pool of buyers drove steep discounts in 2025, enabling China to save up to $28.8 million per …

With earlier tensions over the status of Greenland behind them, the US and the Kingdom of Denmark have an opportunity to chart a productive path forward.The United States’ long collaboration with Greenland and Denmark gives it multiple policy options for homeland defense, resource development, and more.A “defend, deny, deepen, and …

Despite Iranian intransigence, the U.S. blockade of the Islamic Republic’s ports, which began on April 13, is already generating real pain — and real results — for the Islamic Republic. Iran exported a total of 29.45 million barrels of oil in April, down from a reported 35.7 million the previous …

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope of progress on ending the war with Iran, as he looked to Pakistani mediators to help advance efforts to strike an agreement. Previous comments by President Donald Trump had suggested weeks of stop-start negotiations to strike a permanent end to the war …

Sazan Island served as a naval base under Albania’s communist regime and remains under the control of the Ministry of Defence. To pave the way to granting it strategic investor status, Albania’s President Bajram Begaj earlier signed an urgent decree removing a military training zone from the Armed Forces deployment …