Trump and Xi Jingping summit: How are the United States and China redefining their relationship?

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As tensions over trade, Taiwan, technology, and global influence intensify, the meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping may determine the future balance of power between Washington and Beijing. By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Sulaimani, Iraq | 13 May 2026 — Kurdish Policy Analysis "We don't have permanent allies and we don't have permanent enemies, only our interests are permanent, and we have to follow them." – Henry John Temple. The root of the current Strait of Hormuz tensions is not only about shipping routes or oil prices, but also about the final collapse of the historical US concept towards Beijing. However, the 2025 National Security Strategy, released by the White House in November, says this was a historic mistake because China used the assets it accumulated to strengthen itself and compete with the West, not to become their partner. For many years, the United States alone maintained maritime security; The fifth US ship in Manama, Bahrain, worked only to keep o...
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Drone strikes hit British Castrol Oils in Erbil

 The strikes caused a major blaze at the scene, which engulfed stored oil and other highly inflammable materials.


Kurdish Policy Analysis, ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Warehouses of UK-based Castrol Oils were hit by three drone attacks in Erbil on Wednesday, as the Kurdistan Region continues to come under attack amid the broader Middle East conflict.

 

The warehouses, described as “a licensed company operating within the country,” were first struck at 7:20 AM, followed by a second strike during firefighting efforts and a third hours later, Sardar Group, Castrol’s affiliate in the Kurdistan Region, said in a statement.

 

A fourth drone was shot down in the air before reaching its target, according to Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw.

 

The strikes caused a major blaze at the scene, which engulfed stored oil and other highly inflammable materials, rendering the efforts to extinguish the fire more challenging.

 

Authorities directed security and civil defense teams to withdraw from the scene, “as due to the three rounds of bombardment and the scale of the fire, nothing inside the warehouse remains unburned,” Khoshnaw said, adding that the teams are currently waiting for the fire to burn out.

 

The company and its distributor, Sardar Group, confirmed that they are “not parties in any way to the ongoing conflict in the region,” and that their activities are “limited to investment and service aspects within Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.”

 

Since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, the Kurdistan Region has faced more than 480 attacks, resulting in at least 14 deaths and 93 injuries, according to data obtained by Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT).

 

The majority of the attacks targeted Erbil province, which recorded 370 strikes. Sulaimani followed with 90, Duhok with 11, and Halabja recorded the fewest at three.

 

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of pro-Iran Iraqi militias linked to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on Erbil.

 

Kurdish authorities have continuously condemned the attacks launched by the Iraqi militias on the Region, while calling on Baghdad to control the “outlaw groups” and prevent the recurrence of strikes.


#Erbil #Kurdistan #DroneAttack #CastrolOils #MiddleEastConflict #IraqNews #IRGC #WarehouseFire #BreakingNews

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