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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500 Drones Launched From Iraq Toward Saudi Arabia — Region on Edge

Iraq Becomes Drone War Battlefield as Iran-Backed Militias Strike Gulf States. Five Hundred drone attacks from Iraqi territory hit Saudi Arabia and beyond, raising fears of a hidden regional war spiraling out of control

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj, SULAIMANI,  Kurdish Policy Analysis, April 21-- Iraqi militia groups close to Iran have fired dozens of drones at Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries during the war; This has created a “silent” war in the midst of the Great War.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, half of the 1,000 drone strikes against Saudi Arabia were from within Iraqi territory. The report cited a Saudi security assessment that said the attacks targeted sensitive positions, including the Yanbu refinery on the Red Sea and oil fields in eastern Saudi Arabia.

The report said the drones hit not only Saudi Arabia, but also Kuwait's only civilian airport. Even after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire earlier this month, attacks on Bahrain continued. Inside Iraq, militias have attacked the Kuwaiti consulate in Basra and the UAE consulate in the Kurdistan Region.

The State Department has warned that militias are planning more attacks and urged citizens to stay away from the US embassy in Baghdad and Iraqi consulates; Because the Washington embassy in Baghdad has been targeted several times and most of its employees have evacuated.

According to the report, Ismail Qaani, commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Corps, visited Baghdad on Saturday to coordinate with the militia leaders for the attacks.

Saudi Arabia to attack Iraq?

After weeks of Iranian bombing of their energy infrastructure, the Gulf countries now see Iraq as an appropriate arena to respond; Because they can threaten Tehran's interests from there without directly attacking Iranian territory and facing a tougher response.

"Iraq is the place where they can all respond and the right arena to show strength," said Michael Knights, a strategist at the Washington Institute. Knights notes that Saudi Arabia may launch symbolic attacks on militia bases in Iraq, while Kuwait and Bahrain allow the United States to use their territory for missile strikes against the groups.

The military tensions coincide with the disruption of the political process in Iraq after the November elections. The struggle between the parties to form a government has weakened Baghdad's power to stop the militias. Former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who has strong ties to Tehran and militias, was the main candidate to take over, but Donald Trump expressed his opposition to the move earlier this year.

Renad Mansour, a researcher at the Chatham House Institute, believes the militias are now more indifferent because they see any collapse of the Tehran regime as a threat to their survival. "Iran's strategy and the groups under its command in this war is only to destroy regional security in order to show the United States and its allies the bad consequences of the war," he said.

Iraqi militias, with an estimated 250,000 fighters and budgets in the billions of dollars, have grown amid chaos since 2003 and the fall of the former regime. The latest are groups such as Hezbollah battalions and Ahl al-Haq, which have many missiles and drones.

#Iraq #Iran #SaudiArabia #Gulf #DroneWar #MiddleEast #Breaking #Geopolitics


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