The U.S.-Israel strike on Iran lacks a clear legal basis or credible justification and represents a high-risk gamble by the Trump administration. Despite early military success, the operation faces uncertain prospects, including limited chances of regime change and the risk of prolonged conflict.

The death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes has created leadership uncertainty in Tehran, weakened Iran’s regional network of allies, and accelerated shifts in Middle Eastern power dynamics. For China, the conflict threatens energy supplies and Belt and Road investments while potentially expanding Beijing’s diplomatic role if it maintains neutrality and engagement with all sides.

Critics of the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel point out that US President Donald Trump has no plan for what comes next. And they are not wrong: when Trump boasts that he can resolve wars in a single day, he merely exposes the limits of his attention span. But the real problem is not the shortness of Trump’s time horizon; it’s the narrowness of his threat perception.

Acquiring nuclear weapons would not only undermine the global nuclear non-proliferation framework but also deal a fundamental blow to the postwar international order—a prospect that must be met with deep concern and strong opposition from its allies and neighbors.

Negotiations on Ukraine’s peace plan reveal more than technical differences. They show a calculation by all parties related to the cost of war, the capacity to endure over time and the sequencing of strategic priorities.

The new way is not about dismantling anything. It simply rejects American hegemonic thinking and embraces the Oriental wisdom of consultation and co-governance. This approach, which transcends the American model, represents the future.

Donald Trump is threatening to retake Bagram Air Base to gain access to Afghanistan’s rich mineral deposits and to check China and other countries. It’s a costly fantasy. Trump himself signed the 2020 Doha Accord, and his about-face reveals a foreign policy driven by political revenge.

The UN visit of Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria’s transitional government who changed his name from Abu Mohammed al-Julani, demonstrates that Western countries are replacing their post-9/11 consensus on counterterrorism cooperation with a sort of narrow geopolitical logic.

The new film Evil Unbound tells the story of Unit 731 and Japanese biowarfare in China. How the mass murderers escaped justice with U.S. support after World War II offers lessons even today.

Amid the broader context of its strategic retrenchment in the Middle East, Washington aims to preserve its influence without committing substantial resources, something that requires deft skills — something that Donald Trump lacks.