regional stability

The quest to maintain international peace and security has driven diplomatic efforts since the Thirty Years’ War and the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia. Yet permanent peace has remained elusive. Early peace conferences in The Hague at the turn of the 20th century and the post–World War II United Nations Charter sought to limit armaments and resolve conflicts. Today, the intensifying tension between Israel and Iran has exposed the limitations of existing frameworks—and has reignited debate over nuclear non-proliferation. This article examines the political underpinnings of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), its Cold War origins, and the ways in which the current Israelo-Iranian standoff reflects deeper fissures in the global order.

In the aftermath of Israel’s unprecedented air campaign against Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, President Donald Trump has signaled to defense officials that the United States should only consider joining strikes on Iran if the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) “bunker buster” bomb can be guaranteed to neutralize the deeply buried uranium enrichment facility at Fordow. According to multiple defense sources familiar with White House deliberations, Trump has not been fully convinced of the GBU-57’s ability to eliminate Fordow’s critical infrastructure and has delayed authorizing U.S. involvement while assessing whether the mere threat of American intervention might bring Tehran back to the negotiating table.

For decades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly vowed to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions by any means necessary. Those long-held threats culminated this week in “Operation Rising Lion,” a series of coordinated airstrikes against Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure. While Netanyahu’s carefully cultivated reputation as “Mr. Security” may have compelled him to pull the trigger, the strikes carry profound strategic, diplomatic, and domestic risks. As rescuers sift through the rubble in Tehran and world leaders scramble for a response, the true costs of confronting Iran head-on are only beginning to surface.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced a successful underwater explosive attack on the Kerch Bridge—Russia’s vital road and rail link to Crimea. The operation, reportedly involving more than one ton of explosives, temporarily disrupted traffic and underscored Kyiv’s evolving maritime insurgency against Moscow’s seaborne supply lines. As Ukraine seeks to weaken Russian logistics ahead of possible counteroffensives, the latest strike has opened a new chapter in the conflict, one that extends from eastern land battles into the waters of the Kerch Strait. This article examines the details of the operation, its strategic significance for both belligerents, reactions from international observers, and the broader implications for the course of the war.

China’s foreign ministry has retaliated sharply against US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s keynote at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, accusing him of “villifying China with defamatory allegations” and deliberately “sowing division” across the Asia-Pacific region. Hegseth’s address on May 31, 2025, warned regional governments that Beijing might be “credibly preparing to use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific” and urged Asian countries to boost defence spending. In its official response on June 1, China described Hegseth’s comments as “filled with provocations,” decried his alleged “cold war mentality,” and accused the United States of hypocrisy in branding China a “hegemonic power.”

At the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on 31 May 2025, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth delivered a stark warning about China’s military ambitions and called on Asian nations to significantly bolster their defence budgets. Hegseth described Beijing as “rehearsing for the real deal” regarding Taiwan and stressed that regional deterrence must be strengthened without delay.

Israel’s government has formally approved the establishment of 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that includes legalizing a number of previously unauthorized outposts. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a prominent ultra-nationalist and vocal proponent of annexationist policies, announced the decision on Thursday. He stated that the new developments will be concentrated in the northern West Bank, though specific locations have not been publicly disclosed.

In a striking development during his Middle East tour, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the United States and Iran have “sort of” agreed on the basic terms for a new nuclear agreement, raising hopes that a long-stalled diplomatic accord may be nearing completion. Speaking at a business roundtable in Doha, Trump characterized the negotiations—led by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi—as “very serious” and aimed at establishing “long-term peace.”