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Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, China, the US, Mexico, and Argentina.
Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
IRAN. A new game begins in the Middle East.
YEMEN. SAUDI ARABIA. The Houthis set a timer for withdrawal.
CHINA. UNITED STATES. Traditions resume before Xi’s visit.
MEXICO. Crime and sanitation join tariffs in impeding trade.
ARGENTINA. Competition heats up in the southern cone.
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IRAN. The joker packs it in
A new game begins in the Middle East.
Donald Trump said the war in Iran would end "pretty soon" but denied munition stocks were low. The leaders of Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia met to sign a new alliance. Iran said it would ban all US and Israeli vessels from Hormuz.
INTELLIGENCE. Trump looks to be preparing an exit. Widespread “treasonous” reports of depleted long-range and interceptor missiles appear true, as does discord with Pete Hegseth. A Pentagon-wide call for “creative” solutions appears unheeded. US assets remain in the Gulf, but CENTCOM has already left bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, eyeing a presence in the Negev instead. US forces are due to leave Iraq next month. The region may soon end up on its own.
FOR BUSINESS. Trump will take pains not to repeat Biden’s retreat from Kabul. And even in the extreme scenario that it leaves all positions in the Gulf, the US can still project power from Europe, Israel, and Diego Garcia. But what increasingly looks like a repeat of Britain’s Suez crisis will require higher military cooperation, and spending, among Gulf states. The question is whether the Saudi-Pakistan axis will be expanded or countered by a UAE-Israel-India one.
YEMEN. SAUDI ARABIA. Rocket in the rear
The Houthis set a timer for withdrawal.
Oil rose after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia hit a fourth ship in the Red Sea, killed 30 government troops, and injured 11 civilians in Saudi Arabia. A senior Iraqi Shia commander called on pro-Iran militias to pause attacks against Riyadh.
INTELLIGENCE. The Houthis' escalating attacks appear out of kilter with de-