Le président américain Donald Trump a annoncé que son administration avait choisi l’architecture du système de défense antimissile «Dôme d’or» proposé, affirmant qu’il coûterait 175 milliards de dollars et serait opérationnel en «moins de trois ans» avec un «taux de réussite proche de 100%».
From 19 to 21 May 2025, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar undertook a three-day official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The visit took place amid rising regional tensions between the two South Asian nuclear-armed neighbours, India and Pakistan. Following Operation Sindoor, the situation between the two countries has escalated, prompting increased diplomatic and strategic support for Pakistan from Beijing. China continues to emphasize the importance of fostering regional stability through diplomatic engagement.
Ukraine’s arrest of suspected Hungarian intelligence operatives in Transcarpathia has revived fears about Budapest’s intentions towards the region. But experts think the incident says more about Orban’s electoral vulnerability than his territorial ambitions.
More than 25,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in northern Mozambique in recent weeks, as conflict and a series of disasters fuel a worsening humanitarian crisis – one that risks deepening as vital relief operations face a severe funding shortfall.
Recent developments in Syria and the ongoing war in Gaza serve as regular reminders of the importance of the Middle East to Western policymakers.
At a time when many in the West, particularly in the US, would prefer to reduce their engagement in the region and focus more on areas such as the Indo-Pacific, the geopolitical realities on the ground continue to prevent this shift from becoming a reality.
The issue of foreign fighters in Syria has resurfaced prominently following a recent meeting in Riyadh between U.S. President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, brokered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During the meeting, Trump reportedly presented President Sharaa with five key conditions, notably demanding the repatriation of foreign fighters and the removal of individuals he described as “Palestinian terrorists”—a clear reference to groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and other Palestinian armed organisations—from Syria. Additionally, Trump’s conditions included a demand for Syrian cooperation in preventing the resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS) and the transfer of administration of ISIS detention centres in northeastern Syria to Damascus authorities.
When Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa entered Damascus in December 2024 as a victorious rebel, he remarked that Syria was “the world’s leading source of captagon” but “is being purified by the grace of God almighty.” However, despite Sharaa’s words, the captagon industry continues to operate.
Le 23 avril 2025, le tribunal administratif de Lille a décidé que le ministère de l’éducation nationale devait restituer au lycée musulman Averroès son contrat d’association avec l’État. L’établissement, fondé par des personnalités liées initialement à la mouvance des Frères musulmans, avait vu son contrat résilié par le préfet du Nord en décembre 2023. Comment interpréter cette décision de justice, alors qu’Élisabeth Borne, ministre de l’éducation, a décidé de faire appel ?
Un rapport gouvernemental, intitulé « Frères musulmans et islamisme politique en France », présenté lors d’un Conseil de défense, mercredi 21 mai, pointe des menaces graves de la part d’une nébuleuse liée à la confrérie secrète des Frères musulmans, fondée en Égypte en 1928. Le chercheur Franck Frégosi, spécialiste de l’islam français, dénonce une communication politique et une interprétation erronée de ce que représente le « frérisme » dans la France d’aujourd’hui. Entretien.
An unsanctioned oil tanker that is operated by a US-sanctioned entity and has probably illicitly transported oil to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from Iran issued a false distress call in the Strait of Hormuz on May 20.[1] The Panamanian-flagged oil tanker the Themir likely issued a distress call that claimed it had been hijacked.[2] A British maritime security firm said that the distress call occurred 51 nautical miles northwest of Bandar-e Jask, which is consistent with the Themir’s position. The firm confirmed on May 21 that the hijacking call was a false alarm.[3] It remains unclear at the time of writing why the Themir issued the false distress call, but the vessel is linked to Iranian efforts to illicitly transfer oil.[4] The United States sanctioned the Themir’s Malaysia-based owner, IMS Ltd, on February 24 for aiding the Iranian oil export network, as part of US President Donald Trump’s ”maximum pressure” policy.[5]
The Themir’s pattern of behavior suggests it may have conducted a ship-to-ship transfer at some time while off the coast of Iran.[6] Iran and the PRC use ship-to-ship transfers to obfuscate the transportation of PRC purchases of Iranian oil, and ships travel in circular holding patterns when conducting ship-to-ship transfers.[7] The Themir was in a circular holding pattern 51 nautical miles northwest of Bandar-e Jask Port on the southern coast of Iran at the time of the distress call, according to maritime data.[8] The ship and its two sister ships—the Peterpaul and the Chamtang—have regularly sailed between the Gulf of Oman and the PRC.[9] Both the Peterpaul and the Chamtang are sanctioned for illicit transfers of Iranian oil to the PRC.[10] The ships usually enter circular holding patterns in the Gulf of Oman before sailing eastwards to PRC ports. Circular holding patterns can indicate that the ships are executing ship-to-ship transfers.[11] The Themir also previously travelled from the Gulf of Oman to the PRC’s biggest oil offloading port, Shandong Port, in September 2024.[12] The US Treasury Department recently sanctioned refineries in Shandong for importing billions of dollars in Iranian oil.[13] The Themir has also travelled along similar routes as its two sanctioned sister ships from near Bandar-e-Jask Port to eastern PRC through the Gulf of Oman and Malacca Strait five times since January 2024, suggesting that the Themir has previously illicitly transported Iranian oil to the PRC.[14]
