UN teams on the ground reached the families after they were confined to their homes following the establishment of an Israeli settlement outpost nearby and the imposition of tighter access restrictions, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the daily noon briefing.

Some relief

A UNICEF team delivered water, food, medicines, hygiene items and recreational kits for children. As of Monday, however, the UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA) reported that three Palestinian families in the village remained surrounded by a heavy presence of Israeli forces and settlers.

Separately, municipal workers managed to repair water and electricity connections that had been damaged over the past week, though only after facing serious impediments – Israeli settlers attacked the workers, and Israeli forces detained some of them, Mr. Dujarric said. 

Israeli forces also reportedly ordered a nearby Palestinian factory to suspend operations, affecting local livelihoods.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, multiple people were injured over the weekend, including by live ammunition, in two separate incidents in Hebron governorate involving Israeli forces, settlers and Palestinians.

Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov, who is also the humanitarian coordinator, said recent developments in the West Bank underscore the urgent need to protect civilians, safeguard homes and property, and ensure access to essential services.

The update follows an appeal from the UN rights office (OHCHR) last Thursday, after three Palestinian families – around 15 people, including at least two children – were left confined to their homes “in a state of terror” in Qusra’s Ras al Ein area, with settlers accused of cutting off their power and water. 

The attacks are part of a pattern of escalating settler violence in Qusra since a nearby outpost was established in November 2025, OHCHR said.

Gaza: Strikes and shelter shortages

In Gaza, humanitarian partners remain concerned about the impact of continued Israeli strikes on civilians, Mr. Dujarric told correspondents in New York. 

Over the weekend, UN partners reported multiple air strikes and incidents of shelling, gunfire and naval fire, primarily west of the so-called Yellow Line, where most of Gaza’s 2.1 million people are now confined to an area covering less than half of the enclave’s former land mass. 

Civilians were reported among the casualties.

Humanitarian partners also warned that preparations for the coming rainy season are facing funding shortfalls and other constraints, even as the need for them becomes more urgent. 

Tents barred from entry

Ahead of winter, the UN and its partners have managed to purchase fewer than 30,000 tents – most of which remain stuck outside Gaza – against an estimated need of between 80,000 and 130,000, depending on whether more durable shelter materials are allowed in. Such materials still cannot be brought into the Gaza Strip.

Less than 40 per cent of the $4 billion required for humanitarian support across Gaza and the West Bank has been secured so far this year.

While NHS Blood and Transplant manages organ donations and supports transplant centres, services are commissioned and paid for by NHS England.

But in a letter to NHS England and a small group of patient advocates, Manas said the central body had created a “fragmented” system “with poor accountability”.

There is a “mismatch”, he said, between each hospital’s waiting lists, organ availability, capacity to carry out surgeries and the availability of operating theatres.

This is “leading to last-minute cancellations [and] unpredictable utilisation of donated organs,” he warned.

The BBC reported in March that the UK, once a world leader, had fallen behind major Western nations in heart and lung transplantation, though it fares better in other areas such as kidney transplantation.

The NHS transplants one in 10 lungs and one in seven hearts that are donated – half the proportions seen in some other countries.

It has not invested in modern technology at the same rate as other countries, and suffers from a lack of theatre space, intensive care beds and staff.

Wales and Northern Ireland do not have a heart and lung transplant centre, so patients commonly travel to England for surgery. There is one heart transplant centre in Scotland.

DUBAI: Al-Nassr completed the necessary procedures to address the financial restrictions imposed on it for accumulated debts exceeding SR800 million ($212 million), opening the door for the reigning Saudi Pro League champions to carry out signings ahead of the new season, Arriyadiyah has reported.

According to a source close to Al-Nassr’s owners, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund, the Arabic sports daily reported that PIF and the club’s management had through a series of urgent measures successfully addressed the recent financial crisis that threatened to disrupt the team’s campaign before it had even began.

Among the steps taken to address the issue, the report added, were the commercial contracts recently signed by the club with AI company Humain and Cruise Saudi, in addition to the restructuring of its current and future financial obligations to ensure its stability and sustainability of its operations.

The source confirmed that Al-Nassr had completed all the procedures for lifting the financial oversight and was on Friday in the process of submitting the necessary documents to the football authorities, allowing the club to secure potential signings ahead of the start of the new season on Aug. 13.

He also revealed that the fund, in coordination with the club’s board of directors, had hired specialized consulting firms to restructure the financial, administrative, legal and commercial aspects of the club.

This move aims to ensure the implementation of best practices in financial governance and enhance spending efficiency and financial sustainability in the future.

The same source had on July 25 sent shock waves throughout Saudi football by disclosing to Arriyadiyah that the PIF had begun taking urgent measures to address the severe financial crisis plaguing Al-Nassr, which had left the SPL champions with a debt of $212 million.

Key points

• 14 million Afghans face acute hunger, with only one in nine receiving WFP food assistance.
• Child malnutrition has reached record levels in 12 provinces, with children under two hardest hit.
• Funding shortages have forced WFP to scale back lifesaving nutrition programmes nationwide.
• The agency needs $500 million before winter to avert a worsening humanitarian crisis.

In a new alert on Tuesday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that one in three Afghans is now in the grip of acute food insecurity and that it lacks the resources to contain the deepening crisis

Today, 12 provinces have now reached critical levels of acute child malnutrition, the highest number ever recorded. 

Conflict, widespread unemployment, soaring food prices, shrinking humanitarian funding and disruption to supply routes are fuelling the crisis, WFP said. 

Forced returns

The return of six million Afghans pushed back mainly from Pakistan and Iran since September 2023, has increased the strain on the country’s already fragile economy.  

“In the past three years, close to six million Afghans have been forcibly expelled from neighbouring countries,” said John Aylieff, WFP Country Director for Afghanistan. Briefing journalists in Geneva from Kabul, he explained that there are “simply not enough jobs to sustain” the returnees. 

“Conflict with Pakistan and the Middle East crisis have created trade disruptions, which have pushed up the price of staple foods by 20 to 30 per cent…The poor are being priced out of the market,” he explained. 

Because of crippling funding cuts, WFP has been able to feed only one in nine of the 14 million people now acutely hungry in Afghanistan.

And as funding shortfalls deepen, lifesaving nutrition programs are being scaled back, just as needs are peaking.

Most vulnerable infants

Child wasting – the deadliest form of malnutrition – has reached critical levels in one-third of the country’s provinces. “The number of children being rushed to health centres is soaring and we’re seeing this visibly. Eighty per cent of the worst cases are children under two years of age and NGOs report that too many of them are arriving too late to be saved,” warned Mr. Aylieff.

Shrinking humanitarian funding means that “millions of acutely malnourished Afghan children are being turned away without assistance at the very moment when their lives are at risk,” leading to “deaths, which of course are fully preventable”, he added.

During a recent visit to the province of Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, WFP staff met Farida, a mother of three whose story reflects the plight of many of the country’s poorest families. Her husband, an elderly street vendor, earns less than a dollar a day, leaving the family with no chance of affording nutritious food, healthcare, or other basic necessities.

Mother’s plight

Two of Farida’s children suffer from anaemia, and her six-year-old son has been too weak to attend school for months, because of acute malnutrition.
“When we spoke to Farida, her baby started crying from hunger,” the WFP Country Director for Afghanistan said. “She reached into her bag and pulled out a child’s bottle. Normally, you expect the child’s bottle to be full of milk. This one only had weak tea in it. There was simply no money in the household for milk.”
Farida told WFP that she repeatedly has to tell her children that there is nothing more to eat. The family is barely surviving on tea and bread. Without the food assistance they receive through a WFP-supported clinic, she said her children would “undoubtedly die”. 

“That’s a hard message to hear,” said Mr. Aylieff. “But harder still when you realize that WFP is only funded this year to feed one in seven acutely malnourished women and children. Yes, we are turning away six out of seven and we’re turning them away empty-handed with absolutely nothing,” he stressed.
WFP treats malnourished children aged under five and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in clinics across the country, in partnership with UNICEF. But a sharp decline in humanitarian funding has forced the agency to prioritize food assistance to only a fraction of the most vulnerable. The distribution of specialized nutritious foods to prevent malnutrition and stunting halted completely in May 2025.

The UN food agency warned that Afghanistan’s nutrition crisis is spinning out of control. WFP’s operations for emergency food assistance and nutrition programmes are costed at about $900 million for 2026. “We have not met needs in the first six months because we didn’t have money. And when you look at the next six-month window, this critical window, not just because of the current crisis, but also in the run up to winter, which is the real flashpoint of hunger, WFP still needs $500 million to address the acute food needs in the country,” said Mr. Aylieff.

Humanitarians continue to highlight that deepening hunger fuels migration, radicalization and ultimately instability, with consequences that extend beyond Afghanistan’s borders. 

“The humanitarian consequences of the Middle East escalation are worsening by the day,” OCHA said in its latest update.  

Since Wednesday, civilian casualties have been recorded in Iran and Kuwait, while damage or destruction to critical infrastructure has been highlighted in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. 

Civilians at growing risk 

In Iran, a new wave of strikes was reported on Thursday in the provinces of Fars, Hormozgan, Bushehr and Khuzestan, including the country’s main oil-producing region. 

Local sources reported that a strike in Qeshm, Hormozgan province, hit a residential building, killing three civilians, including a two-year-old. Two other children were reportedly injured. 

Iranian health authorities said that as of 27 July, at least 60 people have been killed, and 670 injured, since hostilities escalated a month ago. 

UN agencies and humanitarian partners already operating in Iran continue to support the response to the growing humanitarian needs. 

Critical aid lifelines under pressure 

The disruption is also affecting countries that play a key role in humanitarian operations in the region. Jordan and Egypt remain vital lifelines for aid deliveries and medical evacuations in this regard. 

As fighting intensifies, OCHA said it will continue to monitor the humanitarian impact.  The agency called on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, which includes protecting both civilians and vital infrastructure from harm. 

Five months have passed since the current crisis erupted following the US-Israeli bombing of Iran, and retaliatory strikes by Tehran against Gulf States and Jordan, with impacts felt throughout the region and beyond.  

An agreement signed in June establishing a ceasefire framework collapsed weeks later over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping corridor for oil, liquified natural gas and fertilisers. 

The fighting has broken an interim truce established under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries in June. 

The deal sought to end hostilities that erupted in late February following US-Israeli strikes on Iran and counter attacks by Tehran across the Gulf region. 

De-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy 

Mr. Guterres urged all parties “to take immediate steps for de-escalation and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy”, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York. 

“The Secretary-General reiterates that a return to full-scale hostilities would exact an intolerable toll on civilians and have catastrophic consequences for international peace and security and the global economy,” he said. 

The UN chief also reiterated his call for the full restoration of international navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime corridor for oil and natural gas exports.  

He stressed that the exercise of navigational rights and freedoms must be respected by all sides, in line with international law. 

The United States Navy and Marine Corps are confronting a growing challenge that military leaders increasingly view as a long-term threat to aviation readiness: retaining qualified pilots. While the naval services continue to operate one of the largest military aviation forces in the world, mounting pilot shortages and increasing operational demands have created concerns about a self-reinforcing cycle that could further weaken retention rates in the years ahead.

Despite ongoing recruiting and training efforts, the Department of the Navy is estimated to have approximately 9,800 qualified pilots, including around 6,300 Navy aviators and roughly 3,500 Marine Corps pilots. That figure alone is remarkable. Combined, the Navy and Marine Corps likely maintain a pilot force roughly comparable in size to the estimated pilot inventories of the Russian and Chinese air forces combined.

A shortage of experienced aviators places greater demands on those who remain in service. Increased workloads, longer deployments, and additional responsibilities can encourage more pilots to leave for civilian careers, creating an even larger shortage. The Navy and Marine Corps are now attempting to prevent that cycle from accelerating through expanded retention bonuses and other incentive programs aimed at convincing aviators to extend their military careers.

One of the fundamental challenges facing military aviation is that pilots are paid according to a standardized officer compensation system rather than a profession-specific salary structure.

Pilots serving in the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard receive base pay based primarily on rank and years of service. This model mirrors compensation systems used by many Western militaries, including the Royal Air Force.

As a result, a fighter pilot flying advanced aircraft such as the F-35 receives the same base pay as any other officer of identical rank and service length, regardless of occupational specialty.

In both the Navy and Air Force, fighter pilots must be commissioned officers. The primary exception within the U.S. military is the Army, where many helicopter pilots serve as warrant officers rather than commissioned officers.

The uniform pay structure offers several advantages, including administrative simplicity and consistency across the officer corps. However, it also creates limitations when military services compete with civilian employers for highly trained aviators.

Commercial airlines can significantly increase salaries to attract experienced pilots. The military has far less flexibility. Raising pilot base pay would generally require broader increases across the entire officer force, creating substantial budget implications throughout all service branches.

To compensate for these restrictions, Congress and military leaders increasingly rely on targeted aviation incentives.

Programs such as Aviation Incentive Pay, continuation pay programs, and specialized retention bonuses provide additional compensation to aviators who agree to remain in service beyond their initial obligations.

Total compensation comparisons between military and civilian pilots are often complicated. Military personnel receive extensive benefits beyond basic salary, including healthcare, housing allowances, subsistence allowances, retirement benefits, and various operational bonuses.

For Navy and Marine Corps aviators, compensation rises steadily with rank.

An O-1 Ensign in the Navy or Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps typically earns between $50,000 and $63,000 annually in base pay. When housing allowances, subsistence allowances, and other incentives are included, total compensation generally reaches between $80,000 and $105,000.

At the O-2 level, corresponding to Lieutenant Junior Grade in the Navy and First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, annual base pay rises to approximately $58,000 to $75,000, while total compensation typically reaches between $90,000 and $120,000.

The O-3 rank, Lieutenant in the Navy and Captain in the Marine Corps, is often viewed as the peak of a pilot’s operational flying career. These officers frequently conduct a large share of combat and tactical missions and generally possess between four and ten years of service. Their base pay ranges from roughly $70,000 to $105,000 annually, with total compensation reaching between $110,000 and $155,000.

More senior aviators continue to see increases in compensation. O-4 Major and Lieutenant Commander pilots typically earn between $95,000 and $125,000 in base pay, while total compensation can reach $175,000. O-5 officers receive total compensation packages ranging from approximately $160,000 to more than $210,000.

At the O-6 level, corresponding to Colonel in the Marine Corps and Captain in the Navy, aviators can earn between $180,000 and over $230,000 annually in total compensation. Although some officers above O-6 continue to fly, they rarely participate directly in combat aviation operations.

While military compensation remains competitive early in a pilot’s career, the gap widens significantly over time.

Entry-level Navy and Marine Corps pilots generally earn total compensation packages worth between $80,000 and $105,000 annually. Mid-career aviators with eight to twelve years of service often receive between $130,000 and $175,000.

These figures are broadly comparable to compensation offered by regional airlines.

However, the commercial aviation sector provides opportunities for substantially higher earnings as pilots gain seniority.

Many airline pilots begin flying regional aircraft before progressing to narrowbody jets and eventually widebody aircraft at major carriers. Senior captains employed by major airlines such as Delta, United, or American can earn total compensation packages ranging from approximately $350,000 to more than $550,000 annually.

For experienced military aviators facing family considerations and career planning decisions, those financial incentives can be difficult to ignore.

### Navy And Marines Often Earn More Than Air Force Counterparts

Although military officer base pay remains identical across services, Navy and Marine Corps aviators frequently receive higher total compensation than their Air Force counterparts.

The naval services routinely involve sea-duty assignments, carrier operations, and expeditionary deployments that generate additional pay incentives.

Marine aviation officers participating in certain operational assignments can receive particularly substantial bonus packages. In some specialized circumstances, total compensation for Marine aviators can reportedly approach $320,000 annually.

Even so, military leaders acknowledge that compensation alone cannot solve the retention challenge.

The services continue to refine retention programs in an effort to remain competitive.

In April 2026, the Air Force announced significant revisions to its fiscal year 2026 Aviation Bonus Program. The service increased compensation for shorter contract commitments, particularly among fighter, bomber, and U-2 pilot communities.

The revised program offers contracts ranging from three to twelve years, with annual bonus rates reaching as high as $50,000 depending on aircraft type, experience level, and career field.

According to reporting by Air & Space Forces Magazine, some aviators could potentially receive cumulative bonus packages approaching $600,000 over the life of their agreements. Earlier retention programs offered bonuses ranging from approximately $105,000 to $420,000 depending on commitment length and specialty.

The Navy operates similar retention initiatives.

Its Aviation Department Head Retention Bonus Program targets officers transitioning into critical leadership positions, particularly at the O-4 level. Incentives vary significantly by aviation community, with tactical jet, F-35, and helicopter pilots often receiving the largest offers.

Within the tactical aviation community, pilots signing 96-month agreements may qualify for retention bonuses totaling $300,000.

Despite increasingly generous financial incentives, many aviators cite quality-of-life concerns as a primary factor influencing career decisions.

In January 2024, Commander Kristen Hansen, commanding officer of VFA-122, highlighted the growing burden placed on naval aviators.

“They ask for more every year with fewer and fewer people,” Hansen told Peninsula Press.

She emphasized the challenges faced by military families after years of repeated deployments and operational demands.

“After you’ve given a decade plus to the Navy, at some point, you and your family have to come first too,” Hansen said. “You can totally say ‘for God & Country,’ but that goes only so far when you have people at home that are constantly having to watch you go away.”

Such concerns have become increasingly relevant as deployments lengthen and operational tempo remains high.

The recent deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford illustrates the pressures confronting naval aviation personnel.

The carrier returned to Naval Station Norfolk in May 2026 after completing a 326-day deployment, reportedly the longest continuous U.S. carrier deployment since the Vietnam War.

During that period, the carrier’s air wing conducted more than 12,200 launches and recoveries. The deployment included multiple mission extensions, ranging from operations in the Caribbean to missions in the Middle East.

While military leaders praised the performance of sailors and aviators, such lengthy deployments impose significant personal and family costs.

For many pilots evaluating whether to remain in uniform, additional bonuses may not fully offset the desire for greater stability and family time.

Even with ongoing retention challenges, the United States remains unmatched in military aviation capacity.

The U.S. Air Force is estimated to maintain approximately 13,000 qualified pilots. Historical figures released by the service in 2006 documented nearly 13,700 pilots, alongside thousands of navigators and air battle managers.

The Army is widely believed to operate one of the world’s largest helicopter pilot communities, with estimates ranging from roughly 7,300 active-duty pilots to as many as 14,000 across the broader force.

Collectively, the United States fields far more military aviators than any other nation.

China and Russia are each believed to maintain approximately 4,000 to 5,000 air force pilots. The Indian Air Force reported 3,834 pilots in 2021, while the Royal Air Force operates with roughly 1,500 pilots.

The disparity is even more pronounced in naval aviation. The Navy and Marine Corps together operate more than 1,100 carrier-capable fighter aircraft, dwarfing the carrier aviation fleets of most competitors.

Yet numbers alone cannot guarantee readiness. The challenge facing naval aviation today is not merely training new pilots but convincing experienced ones to stay. Whether retention bonuses, expanded incentives, and quality-of-life improvements can reverse the trend may ultimately determine how effectively the Navy and Marine Corps sustain the world’s largest and most capable carrier aviation force in the years ahead.

“Humanitarian needs are soaring with each day of the conflict; our work is unfortunately far from over…we need the funding,” said Imran Riza, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon. 

Speaking from Beirut, the veteran humanitarian expressed his shock at the devastation caused by the hostilities, involving air and drone strikes and shelling. 

He described “hospitals and clinics hit by airstrikes, government buildings destroyed, agricultural land scorched, water stations demolished and schools turned to displacement sites”.

Since the latest escalation of violence, more than 3,500 people have been killed and more than 10,000 injured. Nearly one million people remain displaced from their homes. 

“Health workers and first responders are facing death and injury on a horrific scale” while entire neighbourhoods have been turned to rubble, Mr. Riza said.

He also cited the deep and lasting trauma of repeated displacement faced by families, a lack of adequate shelter and uncertainty about being able to return home. Providing critical aid assistance in these conditions is extremely complicated and requires an urgent scale-up in support for the most vulnerable, he insisted.

“There are a lot of displacement orders happening all the time. And in fact, this morning there have been a number that have been issued, that people keep moving. So, it’s very difficult to know where people are at certain times.”

“Affected people are rapidly exhausting their coping capacities and essential services are under increasing strain,” the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said in an update accompanying the appeal.

Heightened dangers for women, girls

Just as in conflicts everywhere, mass displacement has increased the risks for women and girls across Lebanon.

“Overcrowded shelters lack privacy, adequate sanitation and basic protection measures,” warned Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director for UN population fund, UNFPA.

More than 600,000 women and girls are estimated to be at risk of gender-based violence, he noted, speaking from Cairo via video, to journalists in Geneva.

In addition, approximately 1,800 women are expected to give birth every month across Lebanon. “And yet healthcare facilities continue to come under attack, hospitals and primary healthcare centres have been forced to close and women are finding it increasingly difficult to access essential maternal health services”, Mr. Saberton explained.

Airstrike tragedy

He described how one UNFPA-supported primary healthcare centre and a women and girls’ safe space in south Lebanon that he visited “while it was being rebuilt in 2025, was once again severely damaged by airstrikes. These were amongst the few, very few facilities that continue to operate in the area.”

Warning of the protracted displacement crisis now unfolding across southern Lebanon, Mr. Riza noted that beyond Israel’s self-declared military line, an estimated 28,000 people remain. 

He added that in 2024, after conflict between Hezbollah fighters and Israel, some 68,000 people “could not go back to their villages after the cessation of hostilities”, either because it was not safe or “mainly that their villages had been destroyed. I think our estimation now is that number is going to be much, much larger, at minimum probably around 200,000, but probably more than that”.

Friday’s emergency appeal brings the overall ask by the UN and partners for Lebanon through August this year to $639.9 million.

On the morning of May 26, three major capitals were confronting different dimensions of the same geopolitical crisis. In New Delhi, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Quad foreign ministers and warned that maritime security had become one of the defining strategic challenges of the modern era. Nearly 60 percent of global maritime trade, he noted, passes through the Indo-Pacific, making stability along key sea lanes a matter of global concern.

In Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin was strengthening ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping during another high-profile state visit. The two leaders signed more than forty bilateral agreements and issued a joint statement criticizing what they described as “unilateral bullying,” a phrase widely interpreted as a reference to U.S. foreign policy.

Meanwhile, in Doha, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf were engaged in negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire framework that could end three months of direct military confrontation between Iran and the United States. At the same time, vessels belonging to U.S. Central Command and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were reportedly exchanging fire near the Strait of Hormuz, with both sides characterizing their actions as measures of self-defense.

Taken together, these developments illustrate a deeper reality about the contemporary international system. While Washington, Beijing, and Moscow remain strategic competitors, each has become dependent on the others to manage one of the most dangerous regional crises of the post-Cold War era.

The Iran crisis has highlighted a significant shift in global diplomacy: China has emerged as an indispensable actor, not because it has replaced the United States as the world’s dominant power, but because it occupies a unique position that no major stakeholder can afford to ignore.

China’s growing influence can be understood through what analysts increasingly describe as “Broker Power” — the ability to maintain productive relationships with competing parties in a conflict and leverage those relationships to facilitate negotiations that others cannot.

Unlike traditional measures of power based on military strength or economic coercion, Broker Power depends on trust, access, and strategic neutrality. It allows a state to serve as an intermediary between rivals who may be unwilling or unable to communicate directly.

The ongoing crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz demonstrates why such influence matters.

At its narrowest point, the Strait measures just 33 kilometers across, yet it remains one of the most important maritime chokepoints in the world. Roughly one-fifth of globally traded oil passes through the waterway every day. Any prolonged disruption would reverberate across the international economy, driving up energy prices, fueling inflation, disrupting supply chains, and increasing financial stress on governments and businesses worldwide.

For China, the stakes are especially high. More than 40 percent of its imported crude oil originates from Gulf producers. Continued instability in the region threatens not merely an important strategic interest but a critical component of China’s economic security.

The current conflict began on February 28, when U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iranian nuclear and missile facilities.

Since then, military operations have expanded into what has become one of the most costly confrontations in recent years. Operation Epic Fury has reportedly consumed tens of billions of dollars and resulted in substantial losses of aircraft and military equipment.

Despite these expenditures, the campaign has not achieved all of its political objectives. While Iranian missile capabilities have been degraded and several senior military figures eliminated, Tehran retains significant leverage. Its influence over the Strait of Hormuz remains intact, and its nuclear infrastructure has proven more resilient than many prewar assessments predicted.

Public opinion within the United States has also shifted. Growing concerns about the costs of the conflict and uncertainty regarding its ultimate objectives have increased pressure on policymakers to pursue a diplomatic solution.

As a result, negotiations in Doha have taken on heightened importance. Diplomats are reportedly discussing a framework that would include a 60-day ceasefire extension, the reopening of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and a phased process addressing Iran’s nuclear program. More contentious issues, including sanctions relief and long-term enrichment limits, would be deferred to future negotiations.

China’s influence in these talks stems from a position that no other major power currently occupies.

First, Beijing serves as Iran’s most important economic partner. China remains the largest purchaser of Iranian oil and a crucial source of investment and trade. Since the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, Chinese economic engagement has helped Tehran withstand the impact of Western sanctions.

The long-term China-Iran Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement has further deepened these ties, creating extensive economic linkages that make Beijing an unavoidable stakeholder in any future settlement.

Second, China maintains strong relationships with Iran’s regional rivals.

The most notable example came in March 2023, when Beijing successfully brokered the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. That breakthrough surprised many observers because it achieved what years of diplomatic efforts by other powers had failed to accomplish.

China’s ability to engage both Gulf monarchies and Iran without being perceived as fully aligned with either side has strengthened its credibility as a mediator.

Third, and perhaps most significantly, Beijing may become the custodian of the most sensitive element in any future agreement: Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.

Reports emerging from ongoing negotiations suggest that Iranian officials have explored the possibility of transferring highly enriched uranium to Chinese custody as part of a broader settlement. Such an arrangement would allow Iran to remove nuclear material from its territory without surrendering it directly to the United States. At the same time, Washington would gain reassurance that proliferation risks had been reduced.

If implemented, this proposal would place China at the center of the agreement’s enforcement mechanism, effectively making Beijing the guarantor of one of its most critical provisions.

Russia’s approach to the crisis has been characterized by careful ambiguity.

Moscow benefits from higher energy prices, which support government revenues and ease financial pressures associated with its ongoing confrontation with the West. The diversion of U.S. attention away from Europe and toward the Middle East also serves Russian strategic interests.

At the same time, Russia has little interest in a complete breakdown of regional stability.

A prolonged disruption of global energy markets would negatively affect China, Russia’s most important economic partner, and undermine broader efforts to strengthen Eurasian economic integration.

The strengthening relationship between Russia and Iran, formalized through strategic cooperation agreements in recent years, has further tied Moscow to developments in the Gulf. Yet Russia remains careful not to become directly entangled in a conflict that could escalate beyond anyone’s control.

Consequently, Moscow’s objective appears to be maintaining influence over the diplomatic process while avoiding a regional catastrophe.

The implications of the Iran crisis extend well beyond the immediate participants.

India, which imports more than 80 percent of its oil requirements, is particularly vulnerable to disruptions in Gulf energy supplies. Any sustained closure of the Strait of Hormuz would increase inflationary pressures and complicate economic planning for one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies.

The crisis also threatens broader strategic ambitions.

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), envisioned as a major connectivity initiative linking South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, depends heavily on regional stability. Continued conflict risks delaying or even undermining the project’s development.

At the same time, China’s growing role in Gulf diplomacy strengthens alternative regional connectivity frameworks involving Iran and Russia. This creates the possibility that Beijing could gain a decisive advantage in shaping future trade and transportation networks across Eurasia.

For New Delhi, the challenge is balancing its deepening partnership with Washington while ensuring that regional developments do not leave India marginalized within emerging economic architectures.

The Iran crisis offers an important lesson about the evolving nature of international influence.

The United States remains the world’s preeminent military power. Its armed forces possess unmatched global reach, and its ability to project force remains unrivaled. Yet military superiority alone has not resolved the conflict, secured the Strait of Hormuz, or produced a durable political settlement.

China, by contrast, lacks comparable military capabilities. Nevertheless, it has become essential to the diplomatic process because it maintains relationships with all major stakeholders and possesses the trust necessary to facilitate compromise.

This distinction highlights a broader transformation in world politics. In an increasingly multipolar environment, influence is no longer measured solely by the ability to coerce opponents. It is also measured by the ability to connect rivals, preserve communication channels, and provide solutions that competing powers can accept.

The Saudi-Iran rapprochement of 2023 demonstrated China’s growing diplomatic reach. The current discussions regarding uranium custody suggest that Beijing’s role has expanded even further.

The emerging reality is not the end of American power, nor the rise of a new global hegemon. Rather, it is the appearance of a system in which multiple forms of power coexist.

Military strength remains important. Economic influence remains essential. But increasingly, diplomatic centrality—the ability to serve as the indispensable broker between competing actors—may prove just as significant.

As negotiations continue and the future of the Gulf hangs in the balance, China’s growing role reflects that changing reality. Whether Washington, Moscow, and New Delhi adapt to this new landscape may shape the next phase of global geopolitics.

Much of the violence has been concentrated in Cité Soleil, an impoverished neighbourhood in the capital, where humanitarian workers are now seeking to provide life-saving assistance. 

The Caribbean island nation continues to suffer from years of insecurity and deep-rooted poverty as well as a collapsing economy and political turmoil following a presidential assassination.

Here’s what two women who fled the violence told the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

Anidette Saint Fleur, from Quartier Blanchard (Cité Soleil)

“There was shooting everywhere. Then they set a fire very close by and we ran away with the whole family.

We didn’t go back to our homes. The gangs are everywhere in the area. We only had time to leave with our ID documents. We haven’t gone back since.

I always keep a bag ready, just in case. When I hear heavy shooting, I grab my bag and flee with everyone. 

I had just paid my rent and we had to flee. Now we have nothing — no money, no roof — and we don’t know if or when we’ll be able to return. Please help us.

Not having a roof to sleep under and food for the children is the hardest thing for us right now.”

Dorlean Boudin, resident of Sarthe, Carrefour Vincent near Cité Soleil

“There were men with machetes setting fire to houses with people inside. They burned, beheaded, shot, killed — and if you had a shop, they looted everything.

The situation was already very difficult for me, I had very little money. I couldn’t buy food because I had to save money in case of emergency, to flee. We stayed without eating so we could save for transport to escape.

I need to restart a small business to raise the children. I need help with food to feed them, and to buy water because we don’t have any.”

WFP has already reached 8,500 newly displaced people from Cité Soleil with emergency food assistance, while nine WFP-supported schools serving about 12,000 students have been forced to suspend meal distributions. 

WFP’s Janvier Muhima said people were being provided with food supplies including rice, pulses oil and fortified flour so they can feed themselves during this period of displacement.”

Across the country, over 1.4 million people, more than 12 per cent of the population, have been forced to leave their homes, mainly due to criminal violence.

Port-au-Prince has become the epicentre of violence, with up to 90 per cent of the city believed to be under the control of gangs. 

The recruitment of children has reportedly surged, with some estimates indicating that children now comprise 30–50 per cent of some gangs.