United States

China

Economics

Politics

U.S.-China Relations

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted U.S. President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People for the first day of their two-day summit, where the two had a public banquet and a two-and-a-half-hour, closed-door meeting, according to state news outlet Xinhua on May 14.

China, U.S.: Trump and Xi Talk Trade and Managed Competition

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Military & Security

The U.S. Directorate of Defense Trade Controls announced the lifting of blanket restrictions on the export of military equipment to Ethiopian security forces under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Addis Standard reported on May 14.

Ethiopia: Trump Administration Lifts Arms Export Ban

Cuba

Energy

The Cuban government announced on May 13 that the country had run out of fuel reserves, El Pais reported the same day.

Cuba, U.S.: Protests Increase in Havana as Cuba Runs Out of Fuel

Mexico

CNN broke a story on May 12 reporting that CIA operations officers facilitated an assassination of a high-ranking Sinaloa cartel leader, Francisco Beltran "El Payin," in Mexico on March 28, citing unnamed sources familiar with the campaign.

U.S., Mexico: CIA Reportedly Facilitating Counter-Cartel Operations in Mexico

Ukraine

Russia

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky must order Ukraine's armed forces to stop firing and leave the Donbas and other Russian-claimed regions before Moscow and Kyiv can enter peace talks, Kommersant reported on May 13.

Russia, Ukraine: Kremlin Bets on More Donbas Gains Before Serious Talks

Kazakhstan

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Cove Kaz Capital, a U.S. citical minerals company linked to two of U.S. President Donald Trump's sons through its planned merger with Skyline Builders, asked the U.S. Defense Department's Office of Strategic Capital for an additional $400 million to develop the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty tungsten projects in Kazakhstan, the Financial Times reported on May 12.

Kazakhstan, U.S.: Kazakhstan Tungsten Project Seeks More U.S. Backing

Venezuela

Venezuela's National Assembly approved a reform that will expand the number of Supreme Court judges from 20 to 32, El Pais reported on May 13. 

Venezuela: Regime Approves Reform To Expand Supreme Court

Taiwan

As U.S. President Donald Trump landed in China, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held roughly three hours of trade talks in South Korea aimed at preparing the summit agenda between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 14-15, with topics including tariffs, semiconductors, rare earths, agriculture, aerospace, energy and the Iran conflict, Reuters reported on May 13. 

China, U.S.: Summit Prep Points to Limited Trade Accommodations, Taiwan Friction

Assessments

Tracking U.S. Naval Power

This map shows the approximate locations of U.S. Carrier Strike Groups and Amphibious Ready Groups.

U.S. Naval Update Map: May 14, 2026

Iran

Israel

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Commercial vessels are seen offshore in Dubai on March 11, 2026.

While recent revelations about the airstrikes indicate a shift in both countries' risk calculations, the UAE's hawkish, Israel-aligned posture poses a greater threat of Iranian retaliation than Saudi Arabia's more restrained approach. 

The UAE and Saudi Arabia Enter the War Against Iran, but With Separate Strategies

U.S. President Donald Trump (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a bilateral meeting in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.

The May 14-15 meetings will likely yield a limited extension of the current U.S.-China economic detente while leaving core strategic disputes over technology controls, Taiwan and Iran largely unresolved.

Trump-Xi Summit Likely To Preserve Trade Truce, Test Strategic Fault Lines

Kenya

Lebanon

France

United Kingdom

Boats on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions between the United States and Iran will remain elevated, especially around the strait, following the May 7 U.S.-Iran exchange of attacks and Iranian attacks against the United Arab Emirates.

U.S.-Iran Relations

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Elevated Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, France Convenes an Africa Summit

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Trucks haul away ore from a pit in the Chinese-owned Tenke Fungurume Mine, one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world, in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 17, 2023.

Greater access to Congo's mining sector will likely help the U.S. further secure its cobalt and copper supplies, but ongoing security concerns in the Central African country and China's dominance over global mineral processing will limit the extent of these gains.

Trump Goes Hunting For Congo's Minerals

Snapshots

People wave Iranian pre-1979 Islamic Revolution and American flags while members of the Iranian community celebrate in front of the Federal Building on March 1, in Los Angeles. 

The recent exchange of fire around the Strait of Hormuz reflects calculated efforts by Washington and Tehran to re-establish deterrence and project strength, complicating already fragile negotiations.


Iran and U.S. Exchange Fire, Further Straining Ceasefire

U.S. Naval Update Map: May 7, 2026

An Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft prepares for landing as a smoke plume rises from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai on March 16.

A military response from the United States aiming to compel Iranian concessions without committing to ground operations could trigger a prolonged cycle of retaliatory attacks between U.S. allies and Iran.


Iran, U.S. Ceasefire at Elevated Risk of Collapse After Iran Attacks UAE

Australia

Japan

India

An oil products tanker at Muscat Anchorage on March 21, 2026 at Sultan Qaboos Port in Muscat, Oman. 

The Weekly Rundown: U.K. Elections, Iran War Resumption Risk

An oil tanker is seen docked in the southeastern Iranian coastal city of Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman, in February 2019.

Chabahar is poised to transition from an ambitious commercial venture to a symbolic strategic asset, as India seeks to maintain long-term access and regional influence until sanctions conditions become clearer.

Expired U.S. Sanctions Waiver Threatens India's Chabahar Port Project in Iran

Media

Podcasts

What are the key domestic pressures impacting U.S. strategy?

The Decision Advantage: The Outlook for U.S.-Iran Negotiations

U.S. Naval Update Map: April 30, 2026

The United States encompasses territory spanning from the Arctic Circle and Central Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic.    The Greater Mississippi Basin is the United States' core and serves as the underpinning of its role as a global superpower.    The basin hosts an extensive network of navigable rivers that overlay the world's largest contiguous piece of arable land. This naturally interconnected river system facilitated integration among settlers and allowed for cheap transport of goods, providing the United States with the ability to feed itself efficiently and rapidly build up industry and capital to expand west. The Midwestern core gave early America strategic depth, while an expanding U.S. coastline, naturally indented with deep harbors, provided its opening to the world.    After reaching the Pacific coast in the mid-19th century, the United States found itself insulated by two oceans. On the continent itself, geography again has worked in the country's favor: lakes to the north and deserts to the south insulate the United States' population centers, with both Canada and Mexico facing too many natural constraints of their own to seriously rival it.    This unparalleled level of wealth and protection gives the United States options that few to no countries can claim. For one, the United States has used its wealth and security to build up the world's largest navy. Control of the world's major sea-lanes gives the United States the power to facilitate or deny trade to allies or rivals of the day. The onus therefore is on the United States to carefully manage its engagements abroad and build up strategic allies to protect its overseas interests and preserve its strength at home. 

SITUATION REPORTS

China, U.S.: Trump and Xi Talk Trade and Managed Competition

Ethiopia: Trump Administration Lifts Arms Export Ban

Cuba, U.S.: Protests Increase in Havana as Cuba Runs Out of Fuel

U.S., Mexico: CIA Reportedly Facilitating Counter-Cartel Operations in Mexico

Russia, Ukraine: Kremlin Bets on More Donbas Gains Before Serious Talks

Kazakhstan, U.S.: Kazakhstan Tungsten Project Seeks More U.S. Backing

Venezuela: Regime Approves Reform To Expand Supreme Court

China, U.S.: Summit Prep Points to Limited Trade Accommodations, Taiwan Friction

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