Global Hotspots: Strait of Hormuz Closed; Ethiopian Elections Impact

This week, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz after it and the U.S. traded strikes. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Israel continued its bombing campaign against Lebanon. In the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. sanctioned Chinese entities for their role in supporting Iran, while Chinese President Xi Jinping met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang for the first time in seven years. In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ukraine continued its long-range strike campaign against Russian oil infrastructure, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Nordic and Baltic leaders in Estonia following accidental Ukrainian drone incursions into the region. In the Americas, Congress passed a $70 billion measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security after months of stalling, while Cuba’s private sector is set to receive 250,000 barrels of oil from the U.S., pending approval from the Trump administration.