United States - Diplomacy & Politics (Page 2)

A Table in Islamabad

The delegations arrived. The table was set. Nobody agreed what was on it. Iran’s ten-point proposal exists in two versions — one in Farsi, one in English — and they say different things. Exhaustion sometimes achieves what reason cannot. But exhaustion without clarity is not diplomacy.

By Sunny Peter

/ 10 Apr 2026

The Ceasefire That Wasn't

The ceasefire was three days old and both sides were already in breach of each other’s version of it. Iran alleged violations before a handshake. Israel said Lebanon was excluded. Pakistan said it was not. A ceasefire disputed before the parties meet is not a ceasefire.

By Sunny Peter

/ 9 Apr 2026

Not Iran. Netanyahu.

The real obstacle to the ceasefire was never in Tehran. It was in Jerusalem. While Washington and Tehran were negotiating, Israel launched a hundred strikes on Lebanon on the ceasefire’s first day. The question is not whether Trump can reach a deal with Iran. It is whether he can with Netanyahu.

By Sunny Peter

/ 8 Apr 2026

The Loudest Critic in the Room

Brian McGinnis walked into a Senate Armed Services hearing in full Marine Corps uniform and screamed until Capitol Police broke his arm. A firefighter from North Carolina. His wife is Palestinian. In India he would have been branded anti-national before the press conference ended.

By Sunny Peter

/ 6 Apr 2026

The Price of Impunity

Washington launched the US-Israel war on Iran without consulting a single ally and is now surprised the world will not follow. A superpower without allies is an island with a large military budget. The willingness to look away — once extended — does not return on request.

By Sunny Peter

/ 3 Apr 2026

Spain Shows Spine

France criticised and kept its bases open. Germany stayed quiet and offered Ramstein. Spain said what every European government privately believed: we are a sovereign country and will not participate in an illegal war. Consistency, in European foreign policy, is the rarest form of courage.

By Sunny Peter

/ 2 Apr 2026

The Indispensable Bad Actor

Pakistan seeded the nuclear crisis it is now asked to resolve. Abdul Qadeer Khan transferred centrifuge designs to Iran. Washington pardoned Islamabad without consequence. Now the same Washington routes its Iran diplomacy through Pakistan. The bad actor designation expires when you become useful.

By Sunny Peter

/ 30 Mar 2026

The Bargain That Broke: How the Iran War Shattered the Abraham Accords' Founding Logic

The Abraham Accords were built on a premise: Arab states could normalise with Israel in exchange for security guarantees and American backing. The US-Israel war on Iran shattered that premise. The Accords still exist on paper. The logic that held them together does not.

By Sunny Peter

/ 9 Mar 2026

The Bargain That Broke: How the Iran War Shattered the Abraham Accords' Founding Logic

Semiconductor Chessboard: How the US-China AI Race is Redrawing Global Alliances and Diplomatic Strategy

The US-China rivalry has found its sharpest edge in semiconductors. Washington uses export controls to choke Chinese access to advanced chips. Beijing races to build domestic capacity. Every state in between is being forced to choose sides in a contest they did not start.

By Sunny Peter

/ 12 Nov 2025

Semiconductor Chessboard: How the US-China AI Race is Redrawing Global Alliances and Diplomatic Strategy

Syria's New Era: Ahmed Al-Sharaa's Historic Washington Visit Marks Potential Shift in US-Middle East Relations

Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s visit to Washington was the most consequential meeting between a Syrian leader and an American president in decades. It signals a potential reset — but the conditions attached, and the history behind them, counsel caution before calling it a breakthrough.

By Sunny Peter

/ 8 Nov 2025

Syria's New Era: Ahmed Al-Sharaa's Historic Washington Visit Marks Potential Shift in US-Middle East Relations

Can Iran and Israel Really Become Friends? Trump Thinks They Can

The Trump administration floated Israeli-Iranian normalisation as part of a regional realignment. The proposal misreads both states. Iran and Israel are not estranged partners — they are ideological adversaries whose hostility is structural, not diplomatic.

By Sunny Peter

/ 1 Oct 2025

Can Iran and Israel Really Become Friends? Trump Thinks They Can

Everyone’s Celebrating Trump’s Gaza Plan—Except the People Who’ve Heard These Promises Before

Every administration produces a Gaza plan. Every plan arrives with optimism and departs without implementation. The people who know this best are Palestinians — who have watched the same cycle repeat for thirty years. Celebrations are premature. They always are.

By Sunny Peter

/ 30 Sep 2025

Everyone’s Celebrating Trump’s Gaza Plan—Except the People Who’ve Heard These Promises Before