Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
IRAN. Economic Fury is off to a wobbly start.
ISRAEL. PALESTINE. The settlers are unsettling the allies.
INDIA. PAKISTAN. A US comment goes well beyond Kashmir.
CHINA. EUROPE. An October trade deal looks ambitious.
CHINA. INDONESIA. Jakarta has no worries on the South China Sea.
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IRAN. Indecent proposal
Economic Fury is off to a wobbly start.
Beijing rejected cooperation on Iranian sanctions as Washington said details would be outlined Monday. Moscow was sending Tehran ammunition via the Caspian Sea, NBC reported. A US bond selloff resumed despite Treasury intervention.
INTELLIGENCE. Donald Trump’s attempts to shift the war to an economic siege, with or against China, are faltering. Scott Bessent told CNBC that “maximum economic pressure” would mean “there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart,” but Iran has warned that any further isolation could trigger strikes on US bases in Europe. China, like Iran, could try to leverage US desperation, but on present trends, an even greater advantage may come after the midterms.
FOR BUSINESS. Xi Jinping is due to meet Trump next month. Trump is also pressing for talks with Kim Jong Un. Yet their engagement (and Putin’s) will more likely help than hinder Tehran. From Xi’s perspective, Trump is in a corner. While sharing an interest in reopening Hormuz, the self-destruction of China’s only peer competitor will be a sweeter reward. The only risk is that amid foreign pressure and White House chaos, the president does something really rash.
ISRAEL. PALESTINE. The West vs the West Bank
The settlers are unsettling the allies.
The EU would bring new sanctions if the E1 settlement proceeded, Israel’s Channel 13 reported. The UK summoned Israel’s envoy over the West Bank project as Australia blasted IDF investigators over the death of an aid worker in Gaza.
INTELLIGENCE. Many Israelis have given up on the EU, UK and Australia, but the US