By Dr. J. Scott Younger

The piece reads late-summer geopolitics as a strained order: Europe’s heat and drought as a climate reminder; a new Turkey–Saudi Arabia–Pakistan defence-style pact as regional powers “standing up”; and Oman–Iran talks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which the author says angered Trump as the Iran fight restarted after a brief lull.

Gaza and the West Bank are the article’s main indictment. It calls Netanyahu’s coalition the most far-right in Israel’s history, says settlement expansion and IDF control of large parts of Gaza are killing the two-state idea, and argues Europe’s protests mean little without sanctions while U.S. backing stays strong. Trump’s “Board of Peace” is described as weak; Israeli elections (the author says October) could matter more.

The next months are framed as risky: U.S. mid-terms in November, no clear winner after months of war with Iran, a CIA director’s unannounced Moscow visit, and Russian threats toward Britain. The author’s conclusion: U.S. influence is contested, alliances are shifting, and drift on Gaza and Hormuz is turning regional fights into global ones.

The recent summer has been marked by record-high temperatures across parts of Europe and widespread drought conditions, once again bringing the issue of climate change to the forefront of public and political attention.

Perhaps the most interesting recent geopolitical development concerns three countries that signed an agreement a few days ago resembling a NATO-style defensive alliance. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have apparently recognised that longer-term peace and stability may require them to “stand up and be counted”. All three are among the stronger and more strategically significant countries in the wider Middle East and its surrounding region. Indeed, Friedmann (2009) considered Turkey, with its position on the eastern boundary of the EU and its long and complex history, to be one of the key countries of the twenty-first century.

Another important development concerns discussions between Oman and Iran, which lie on opposite sides of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway central to regional and global energy security. The objective is to find a satisfactory solution that would restore the Strait to normal operation. This has not pleased the US President, who has reportedly threatened Oman and warned it against intervening. This may reflect........

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