As the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran enters its third week in April 2026, with Iranian forces seizing ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. maintaining its naval blockade, the conflict—now in its eighth week—continues to ripple far beyond the Persian Gulf. Launched on February 28 with coordinated U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian military sites, nuclear facilities, and senior leadership, the war has already reshaped regional dynamics and exposed deep fissures in the transatlantic security architecture.
Category: The Americas
The 2026 India-US Trade Reset and the Future of the Indo-Pacific
The India-US relationship came to a standstill during the Trump 2.0 administration, with skyrocketing tariffs up to 50 percent since August 2025, creating an economic burden on India. Within the unpredictable geopolitical environment, the interim trade agreement between India and the United States finally came to terms in February 2026, but the recent ruling of the US Supreme Court brought the deal to a halt. The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, ruling that he cannot use the 1977 emergency powers law to slap blanket duties on nearly every country.
Was the Sinking of IRIS Dena by the United States a War Crime?
At 5:08 in the morning of March 4, 2026, a distress call crackled out from a position roughly 40 nautical miles south of Galle, Sri Lanka. By the time Sri Lankan naval vessels reached the coordinates, IRIS Dena, an Iranian Moudge-class frigate, commissioned in 2021, carrying approximately 180 sailors had already vanished beneath the Indian Ocean. What remained were spreading oil slicks, floating debris, and men treading water far from shore. The US government later confirmed, with apparent pride, that one of its nuclear-powered attack submarines had fired a single Mark 48 torpedo at the vessel.
How CRINK Actors Weaponised the Venezuelan Raid against the United States
China and Russia have moved swiftly to co-opt the Venezuelan narrative within multilateral forums, particularly the UN Security Council. Both nations backed Venezuela’s request for an urgent Security Council meeting, with China’s UN ambassador having previously stated at a December session that Beijing opposed all acts of unilateralism and bullying, urging Washington to refrain from interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs. During the January 5 emergency session, Chinese and Russian representatives demanded Maduro’s immediate release while framing the raid as a violation of the UN Charter
India-U.S. Trade: A Strategic Reset in an Uneven Global Economy
In early February 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled an interim framework for a trade agreement, marking an important milestone that goes beyond a simple commercial arrangement: it highlighted a developing economic partnership influenced by both geopolitical factors and market needs. This agreement, which decreases effective tariffs on Indian products entering the American market and enhances reciprocal access, was formulated amid previous trade conflicts and tariff disputes between the two nations
How CRINK Actors are using the Venezuelan Raid to Legitimise Anti-U.S. Norms
On January 3, 2026, United States forces executed Operation Absolute Resolve, a predawn military strike on Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The operation, which involved suppressing Venezuela’s air defences and extracting Maduro from his compound within hours, sent shockwaves across the international system. The response from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, the adversary coalition often termed CRINK or the Adversary Entente was swift and coordinated. Beijing condemned the move as deeply shocking hegemonic aggression.
Trump’s Greenland Obsession: More of National Security Vulnerability and Less Minerals
President Donald Trump said on January 9 that his administration will take action on Greenland “whether they like it or not,” and this time it seems serious as he pushes to acquire the Danish territory for the United States. After January 3, when Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was ousted from Caracas, the American President is adamant about seizing control of the 836,330-square-mile island of Greenland, which is bigger than Alaska.
Strategic Arctic Competition: When National Security Trumps Sovereignty
On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, high-level talks between the Trump administration and Danish-Greenlandic officials ended precisely where they began: in deadlock. Following a White House meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen emerged to confirm a “fundamental disagreement” remained over Greenland, despite establishing a working group to explore compromise. Hours earlier, President Trump had doubled down from the Oval Office, declaring “we need Greenland for national security” while questioning whether “Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland.”
10 Conflicts to Watch in 2026
As we moved into 2026, the world is no longer merely “watching” conflicts – it is living with them. Civil war in Sudan has deepened into a regional humanitarian catastrophe, Ukraine remains locked in a war of attrition with global consequences, India-Pakistan tensions continue to cast a long shadow over South Asia and multiple theatres across Central Africa are sliding into protracted violence. This special newsletter revisits the evolving conflict landscape and examine what these wars reveal about power, governance and the fragility of the current global order and why their trajectories in 2026 matter far beyond their immediate borders.
How Criminal Law Became a Tool of U.S. Foreign Policy in Trump’s Maduro Operation
In the early hours of January 3, 2026, more than 150 U.S. military aircraft launched from bases across the Western Hemisphere, converging on Caracas. By dawn, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was aboard the USS Iwo Jima, bound for New York to face narcoterrorism charges. The operation, codenamed “Absolute Resolve,” represented the most audacious military action against a foreign head of state since the 1989 Panama invasion. But unlike traditional warfare, this operation unfolded under a different legal banner entirely: law enforcement.