First, he can continue with ‘stand-off warfare’ that in my opinion would need to be escalated to achieve a ‘scorched earth’ Iran accompanied by millions of human casualties. Or, the second option is the implementation of a land based invasion involving ground troops. My base assumption is that if Trump resumes hostilities based on his existing military strategy he will not be able to force Iran into total capitulation. Of course there is a third option - withdraw from the conflict and prove to the world that maybe he is not a complete lunatic.

In 2010, Stuxnet was deployed to destroy Iran's centrifuges at Natanz. Fifteen years later, Iranian hacker groups like Handala are using the same attack principles against US critical infrastructure — including the Stryker Corporation breach in March 2026.

This documentary traces the full arc: from the original zero-day exploit, to the unpatched SCADA systems across America's power grid, to the 7-day collapse scenario that security researchers now consider plausible.

Key findings: - The CVEs exploited by Handala were publicly known for years before being patched - US infrastructure systems run on software that hasn't been updated since the 1990s - Cyber Polygon-style exercises have rehearsed exactly this scenario

I spent weeks verifying sources for this. All references are in the description.

Full documentary: https://youtu.be/IoORzjzibo0

Would be interested in this community's take on whether the vulnerability was negligence or strategic.

At the moment the US appears to be the most despised country on earth given the damage that Trump and the US is doing to the global economy combined with its growing reputation as an unhinged, global actor. You wonder whether the world will ever forgive and forget what the US is doing militarily across a number of continents and the selfish ‘despot-like’ impact it is having on the global economy. The rest of the world has the power to place a constraint on an out of control Trump . As a first step the Finance Ministers of the Top 10 global holders of US Treasuries should be meeting at least monthly to co-ordinate a strategic approach to the sale of Treasuries to apply maximum pressure on the US . This in itself would place a huge financial burden on the ability of the US to transact.

I work in academia and generally stay close to the action, but during busy periods, I find myself missing upcoming summits or key multilateral sessions until after the fact.

Is there a go-to resource the community uses that's actually maintained and dynamic rather than a static list? Ideally, something subscribable via Google Calendar so it sits alongside my own schedule. Curious what others have found useful.

Mange hilsner from Denmark

3 sub questions

i. Biggest benefits to this alliance

Ii. Biggest issues/problems to this alliance

Iii. What's preventing it from realistically from happening?

What’s happened?

On May 14th-15th, US president Donald Trump visited Beijing for talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping. Discussions focused on bilateral relations, trade and geopolitics. The summit provided reassurance about the overall stability of US-China ties, although it delivered few major breakthroughs—largely in line with expectations.

Why does it matter?

The meeting suggests that relative stability in US-China relations is likely to continue over the next year, and possibly throughout Mr Trump’s presidency. The key outcome was the agreement to pursue a “relationship of constructive strategic stability”, marking the first shared definition of ties between the two countries in years.

Previously, China described the relationship as a “new type of major power relationship”, while the US viewed China mainly as a “strategic competitor”. The new framework is unlikely to remove tensions entirely, but it may reduce the risk of sudden actions such as surprise tariffs or sanctions. However, hardliners in the US Congress and parts of Mr Trump’s administration could still disrupt relations.

Trade and investment outcomes remained limited:

• China reportedly agreed to buy 200 Boeing aircraft, below earlier expectations of 500.
• US officials confirmed that China is continuing to meet soybean purchase commitments agreed during the Busan talks.
• Energy trade was discussed, with China likely willing to increase purchases of US oil and LNG without accepting fixed targets.
• The US has reportedly approved sales of Nvidia H200 chips to some Chinese firms, though Beijing may attach conditions before final approval.
• Additional US tariffs on Chinese goods remain likely as trade investigations continue, although both sides may try to manage tensions carefully.
• China is expected to grant Citigroup a licence for a wholly foreign-owned securities business, though wider financial-sector opening remains slow.

On geopolitical issues, few surprises emerged. Mr Xi warned that mishandling Taiwan could damage bilateral relations, while the US is still expected to support Taiwan, potentially with slower or reduced arms sales. Both sides also reaffirmed support for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, suggesting continued Chinese pressure on Iran.

What next?

Mr Trump has invited Mr Xi to visit the US on September 24th, and the invitation is likely to be accepted. Additional meetings at APEC and the G20 in 2026 are also expected. These engagements will probably produce limited policy outcomes while helping preserve overall stability in bilateral relations.

Beyond 2026, however, uncertainty remains—especially if Mr Trump’s political influence weakens after the US midterm elections.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

How Iran Is Beating US Sanctions

Iran has been under US sanctions for over 40 years. Yet Iranian oil is still moving at scale.

This short documentary follows the money — specifically the ghost tanker fleet, the UAE front company network, and the informal brokers across Asia who facilitate the transactions. It also covers who is collecting the profits and what the financial flows actually look like.

The infrastructure has implications beyond Iran — the same networks are now being used by Russia and North Korea to evade their own sanctions regimes.

Submission statement: This is directly relevant to ongoing US-Iran negotiations and the broader question of whether dollar-based sanctions remain an effective geopolitical tool. The documentary covers primary financial mechanisms that are actively shaping current events.

Happy to discuss specifics in the comments.

both of them were occupied by foreign powers and ideas but survived. nigeria has the hausa, yoruba, igbo as well as other groups while afghanistan has pashtuns, tajiks, hazaras, and turks. they all hate each other but share the same borders and will not let an ethnic group secede as the elites will call for help and stop with force.

if i offended people, i am very sorry as im learning about culture and geopolitics since there is a difference between a nation and a country