The Ledger
On the night of the US midterms, Iran's Revolutionary Guard mined and destroyed four oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz. Diplomacy through Qatari mediators continues. The mines are still there. Neither fact cancels the other.
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Analysis
Pakistan's army chief went to Tehran twice in October. The first time, he came back empty-handed. The second time, he brought Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Saudi Arabia and Iran issuing a joint statement on regional security in Tehran — is the most significant diplomatic development of the war.
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Analysis
Pakistan's army chief went to Tehran twice in October. The first time, he came back empty-handed. The second time, he brought Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Saudi Arabia and Iran issuing a joint statement on regional security in Tehran — is the most significant diplomatic development of the war.
5 min read
Analysis
The US struck Qeshm Island the night before the congressional elections and called it defensive. The trigger was real — an Iranian surface-to-air missile. But the target is an IRGC naval base and underground missile facility at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz.
United Nations
Washington, Moscow and Beijing have blocked each other in the Security Council for four years. The Wall Street Journal says they’ve agreed on Viktor Orban for UN Secretary-General. The story isn’t Orban. It’s the consensus.
Analysis
Rubio didn't go to New Delhi. He went to Jamnagar and asked Mukesh Ambani to process more Venezuelan crude. India has been buying discounted Russian oil at scale throughout the Iran war, declined to join any coalition, declined to mediate, and received America's Secretary of State at a refinery.
Analysis
Israel votes October 27. The polls give neither bloc a majority. Benny Gantz withdrew. But the more important question is not whether Netanyahu survives — it is what his replacement will do with the war. None of them that oppose Netanyahu is opposing the war.
The Nuremberg Files is DiploPolis's ongoing investigation into the promise of universal accountability — what it meant, what it became and what its failure costs the world.
India Examined is DiploPolis's ongoing analysis of Indian foreign policy since 2014. What India claims to be in the world. What it actually is. And what the gap between those two things costs.
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