Global Hotspots: Trump Confirms Netanyahu Quarrel; Ukraine Hits St. Petersburg

This week, the U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes amid continued diplomacy, while Israel continued its ground operations in Lebanon despite a conditional ceasefire agreement between them. In the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. set out new guidance designed to close loopholes that allowed China to receive advanced AI chips, while U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pushed for increased allied defense spending at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue. In transatlantic relations and the Russia/Ukraine war, Ukrainian long-range drones struck an oil terminal near St. Petersburg during its hosting of an annual international economic forum as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the EU voted to start accession talks for Ukraine and Moldova. In the United States, President Donald Trump canceled the establishment of a $1.8 billion fund to compensate, among others, Jan., while the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative called for the imposition of at least 10% tariffs on more than 60 trading partners.