diplomacy
19 briefs
The Ceasefire That Isn't
Trump called Iran's peace proposal garbage. Iran called the US terms surrender. Brent crude hit $104. Nobody's blinking.
Three Days of Quiet, Then Drones on Kyiv
Trump's 72-hour Ukraine ceasefire expired at midnight. Russia struck residential buildings in Kyiv by 3:35 AM.
The Price of Playing Both Sides
Pakistan tried to mediate between the US and Iran. The UAE responded by expelling hundreds of thousands of Pakistani workers. That is what it costs to be indispensable.
Trump Threatens More Bombs While Claiming Peace Progress on Iran
Sixty-eight days into a US war with Iran, both sides are inching toward a one-page memorandum while the president simultaneously threatens to escalate.
Trump Goes to Beijing. China Holds the Iran Card.
The first US presidential visit to China in eight years arrives after two months of war in Iran, with Beijing in a position it has rarely occupied: indispensable to both sides.
Pakistan Staked Its Credibility on the Iran Deal. It Lost.
Army Chief Asim Munir flew to Tehran, hosted 21 hours of talks, and watched them collapse. The second round never happened. Iran just sent a new proposal anyway.
Trump Flies to Beijing. China Says Taiwan Is the Price of Admission.
Two weeks before the Trump-Xi summit, China's foreign minister told Rubio that Taiwan is the 'biggest risk' in the relationship — and the US side has not publicly disagreed.
China Gave All of Africa Zero-Tariff Access, Except the One Country That Recognizes Taiwan
The same day Taiwan's president arrived in Eswatini through a secret route after China blocked his aircraft, Beijing announced zero tariffs for all 53 African nations except Eswatini. The timing is not coincidental.
Zelenskyy Accuses Israel of Buying Grain Stolen by Russia. Israel Says Prove It.
A diplomatic row over Russian-flagged ships unloading in Haifa reveals the limits of Ukraine's moral leverage over countries that also have their own survival calculations.
After Islamabad: Iran Goes to Moscow Because Washington Stopped Showing Up
Trump canceled the Islamabad talks. Iran's foreign minister flew to St. Petersburg. Putin pledged strategic partnership. The ceasefire holds in name only. And Russia just inserted itself as a necessary intermediary in a war it didn't start.
The Islamabad Walkout: Iran Goes to Moscow as US-Iran Talks Die in Pakistan
Trump canceled his envoys' Islamabad trip while Iran's foreign minister was already on the ground. Now Araghchi is in St. Petersburg with Putin, proposing to decouple the Strait from the nuclear file. Washington rejected that last month too.
Witkoff Has Been to Moscow Eight Times. He Has Never Been to Kyiv.
Zelensky is not complaining about protocol. He is naming the structural imbalance that makes a just peace deal geometrically impossible.
Europe's Nuclear Experts Are Watching Witkoff and Kushner Negotiate Iran. They Are Not Calm.
European diplomats who spent 12 years building the 2015 nuclear accord have been sidelined from the current talks. They think a bad deal is more likely than no deal, and that a bad deal is worse.
Putin Wants to Talk. Ukraine Has Heard This Before.
Russia is proposing direct negotiations in Istanbul on May 15 with no preconditions. The last time that happened, Kyiv drafted a deal and then dropped it under Western pressure. Putin is betting the circumstances are different now.
Pakistan's Both Sides
Pakistan is hosting US-Iran peace talks while simultaneously sending fighter jets to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defense pact. The two moves are not contradictory. They are Pakistan's bet on being indispensable to everyone.
The Handshake and the Warplanes
Xi met Taiwan's opposition leader in Beijing while sending 16 warplanes toward the island. The signal was not diplomatic.
32 Hours of Nothing
Putin announced a ceasefire for Orthodox Easter. Ukraine accepted. The war did not.
Beijing Invited the Opposition. Taiwan's Government Should Be Alarmed.
The KMT chair's 'Journey of Peace' to Beijing is a sophisticated move to split Taiwanese politics before Trump meets Xi.
The Iran Ceasefire: Trump's Victory Lap Is a Cover Story
The deal was built on Iran's 10-point plan. Calling that a win requires ignoring what the plan says.