Leon Hadar

Donald Trump has sought China's help in pressuring Teheran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but Beijing has so far declined.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Beijing bound: What the Trump-Xi summit in May reveals about a world in flux

Underlying all issues is the broader contest for global influence

US military personnel with munitions at the RAF Fairford airbase in Gloucestershire, UK. Defence officials in Asia are growing alarmed that more American firepower will shift over time if the Middle East conflict drags on.

The quiet death of the US pivot to Asia

Iran campaign consumes capabilities America would rely on in any major conflict in the Indo-Pacific

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gave US President Donald Trump a detailed explanation of what Japan can and cannot do under its law in the current Iran conflict.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Surprise and alliance: What the Trump-Takaichi meeting reveals

The US-Israeli war loomed over every exchange between the US president and Japanese prime minister

Perhaps the most striking dimension of Trump’s push is the appeal to China, a country he has spent years framing as a strategic adversary.
THE BOTTOM LINE

The Hormuz gamble: Trump’s coalition dream and its hard realities

Gap between Trump’s claims and silence of the countries he is counting on speaks volumes about limits of pressure-based multilateralism

US President Donald Trump (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet for three days from Mar 31 to Apr 2.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Deals over principles: Trump’s China gambit in the shadow of Iran

Can the two great powers arrive at an agreement at the upcoming bilateral summit in Beijing?

US consumers are seeing petrol prices rise US$0.05 to US$0.10 per gallon daily, and those increases ripple far beyond the forecourt.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Price of war: How the conflict with Iran is hitting the US economy

A longer-lasting escalation would shrink America’s forecasted expansion by more than half

Anthropic has insisted that its technology is not to be used for domestic mass surveillance of Americans, nor to develop or operate fully autonomous weapons systems.
THINKING ALOUD

When principle meets power: the Anthropic-Pentagon stand-off

What is the future of AI governance – especially in military and national security contexts?

Damaged residential buildings in Manama, Bahrain's capital, following an Iranian drone attack on Mar 2.

From targeted strike to regional firestorm: how the US-Israeli attack on Iran escalated

It is now a regional war – fought across at least seven countries, with missiles falling on civilian airports, naval headquarters and residential districts

The joint strikes targeted Iran’s military infrastructure, nuclear programme and, ultimately, its head of state.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran: a reckoning with no clear ending

The joint military attacks have created a political vacuum and could create further hardship on the ground

US President Donald Trump himself announced a US$10 billion US contribution, calling it a bargain compared to the cost of continued war.

The Board of Peace: Bold vision, uncertain future

It is a fundamentally different kind of institution – one whose rules, norms and accountability mechanisms are still being written