Geopolitics

Xi Jinping has purged more than 100 PLA officers since 2022 — including his top general Zhang Youxia — in the broadest military purge since the Mao era. A CSIS report warns the campaign has reduced the pool of theater command successors by 33% and could make Xi dangerously overconfident about his military’s real capabilities. Here’s what happened, why it matters, and what it means for Taiwan and global security.

President Trump is awaiting Iran’s response to a 14-point war-ending proposal on May 9, 2026 — threatening to resume bombing “at a much higher level” if Tehran rejects it. Iran says it is still reviewing the offer, as both sides continue exchanging fire in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. naval blockade holds 70+ tankers with $13 billion in Iranian oil cargo.

Iran says safe transit in the Strait of Hormuz is possible if US threats end, signaling potential de-escalation and major implications for global oil markets.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on May 5, 2026 that Operation Epic Fury — the military campaign against Iran launched on February 28 — is formally over, reframing all ongoing U.S. military activity in the Strait of Hormuz as defensive. The naval blockade and Project Freedom escort mission continue, as Washington shifts to economic and diplomatic pressure to resolve the nuclear standoff.

Iran’s president calls US demands “impossible,” deepening tensions in the Strait of Hormuz crisis and raising risks for global markets and oil supply.

The U.S. Navy destroyed seven Iranian fast boats in the Strait of Hormuz on May 4, 2026, as Iran attacked a South Korean cargo ship and launched missiles at the UAE in response to Project Freedom — the U.S. operation to escort stranded vessels through the strait. Trump warned Iran would be “blown off the face of the Earth” if it targeted American ships, while signaling that negotiations remain active.

Iran’s military warned on May 4, 2026 that U.S. forces would be attacked if they entered the Strait of Hormuz, hours after President Trump launched “Project Freedom” — an operation to escort stranded ships out of the Persian Gulf. Iran also claimed it forced a U.S. warship to turn back, a claim the Pentagon denied. The confrontation risks collapsing the fragile ceasefire in place since April 8.

Germany’s defense minister says Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security after U.S. announces withdrawal of 5,000 troops German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday that the planned U.S. troop drawdown from Germany was foreseeable and used it as a call to action for European nations — even as he stressed the