Global Hotspots: U.S. Peace Proposal for Iran, and Troop Withdrawal from Germany

This week, Iran considered a one-page peace proposal sent by the United States that would end hostilities, while Israel issued new evacuation orders for southern Lebanon and bombed Beirut despite an ongoing ceasefire. In the Indo-Pacific, China gave conflicting advice to its banks on how to respond to U.S. sanctions, citing a violation of international law, while the EU took steps to reduce its technological dependency on Chinese hardware imports. In the Russia/Ukraine conflict, Russia conducted airstrikes despite a Ukrainian ceasefire proposal, while mobile internet access in Moscow and St. Petersburg was shut off due to security concerns surrounding upcoming Victory Day parades and U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany.