This week, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz in his first public statement, the International Energy Agency announced it would carry out its largest-ever release of oil reserves as global crude costs surged, and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed that his government held recent talks with the U.S.
Read more below.
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This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Condoleezza Rice interviewed by Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster for the Hoover Institution’s GoodFellows podcast: “Dire Straits: Condoleezza Rice on the War With Iran”
Anja Manuel was featured on PwC’s global podcast, where she was interviewed by Doug McHoney in a wide-ranging discussion on global geopolitics, covering topics from Iran and the Middle East to developments in Asia, China, and Europe.
Chris Coons interviewed by Alicia Menendez, Symone Sanders-Townsend, and Michael Steele for MS NOW’s The Weeknight: “‘Profoundly Unserious’: Sen. Coons Slams Trump’s FBI as Iran War Escalates”
Elizabeth Economy interviewed Miles Yu for the Hoover Institution’s China Considered podcast: “Inside Trump’s China Policy With Miles Yu”
Mark Esper interviewed by Elizabeth Vargas for NewsNation: “What’s Next for Iran as Former Supreme Leader’s Son Rises to Seat?”
Michael Froman interviewed by Melissa Lee and Michael Santoli for CNBC’s Closing Bell Overtime: “Council on Foreign Relations President Says Ending Iran War Isn’t Just Up to the U.S.”
Jane Harman interviewed by Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz for Bloomberg’s Balance of Power: “NATO Intercepts Iran Missile Over Turkey as Conflict Spreads”
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “Iran’s Islamic Republic 2.0 Is Coming — And It Won’t Be Pretty”
Dina Powell McCormick interviewed by Adebayo Ogunlesi at the BlackRock Infrastructure Summit
Meghan O’Sullivan interviewed by Kelly Evans for CNBC’s Power Lunch: “Regime Change in Iran Will Be Much Harder Than It Was in Iraq”
David Petraeus and Isaac C. Flanagan for Foreign Affairs: “The Autonomous Battlefield”
David Rubenstein interviewed by Jonathan Ferro and Annmarie Hordern for Bloomberg: “You Can’t ‘Jawbone’ Down Energy Prices”
David Sanger interviewed by Michael Smerconish for CNN: “Iran Conflict Enters More Uncertain Phase”
Jake Sullivan interviewed by Scott Detrow for NPR’s All Things Considered: “Biden’s Former National Security Advisor Weighs in on the Path Forward in Iran”
Post of the Week
Young Leaders Spotlight
Features from ASG Rising Leaders and Former Fellows
Rebecca J. Anderson (‘26) et al. for McKinsey Global Institute: “At 250, Sustaining America’s Competitive Edge”
Clara Kaluderovic (‘26) for Fox News: “Trump’s Strike on Iran Deals a Major Blow to Putin’s War Machine in Ukraine”
Rachel Myrick (‘21) and Chen Wang in National Affairs’ Winter 2026 issue: “Today Ukraine, Tomorrow Taiwan? Assessing U.S. Reputation and Deterrence Across International Crises”
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Rachel Chason, Evan Halper, Siham Shamalakh, and Tara Copp for The Washington Post: “Nations Agree to Release Oil Reserves as War in Iran Hits Global Economy”
Elliott Davis for The Hill: “U.S. Temporarily Lifts Sanctions on Russian Oil Amid Iran Prices Spike”
Magdalena Del Valle for Bloomberg: “U.S. Imposes Sanctions Over North Korean Fraud Targeting U.S. Firms”
Milexsy Durán and Dánica Coto for AP News: “Cuban President Says Talks Were Recently Held With the U.S. to Resolve Differences”
Peter Hoskins for BBC News: “U.S. Launches Probe Into Trading Partners Including the EU, China, and India”
Ioannis Karagiorgas for Euronews: “Trilateral Meeting in Paphos: ‘Any Attack on Cyprus Is an Attack on Europe’”
Kenji Kawase for Nikkei Asia: “Xi Jinping’s ‘Ethnic Unity’ Policies Enshrined in Law at China’s NPC”
Le Monde: “Russian Envoy Met With U.S. Negotiators in Florida”
Timothy W. Martin and Sooyoung Rhee for The Wall Street Journal: “The 24-Hour Train Between Beijing and Pyongyang Is Back on Track”
Constant Méheut for The New York Times: “How Russia’s Scorched-Earth Attacks Put Ukraine’s Power Grid Near Collapse”
Robert A. Pape for Foreign Affairs: “Why Escalation Favors Iran”
Richard Lloyd Parry for The Times: “Xi Renews Conquest of South China Sea as Dark Dredgers Build Great Wall of Sand”
Alexander Smith and Daniel Arkin for NBC News: “Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Vows Vengeance in Fiery First Statement”
Jude Webber for the Financial Times: “Neutral Ireland Seeks Closer Ties With NATO Over Maritime Security”
From the Archives
As the National People’s Congress concluded this week, revisit our conversation on China from the 2025 Aspen Security Forum.
The China Challenge: Rivalry and the Road Ahead
Stephen Biegun, Former Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State
Reinhard Bütikofer, Senior Adviser, European Policy Center; Former Member, European Parliament
Elizabeth Economy, Hargrove Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the U.S., China, and the World Program, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Former Senior Advisor for China, U.S. Department of Commerce
Moderator: Lingling Wei, The Wall Street Journal
Book of the Week
For and Against a United Ireland
By Fintan O’Toole and Sam McBride
“In For and Against a United Ireland, renowned journalists Fintan O’Toole and Sam McBride provide an accessible and measured approach to the polarized debate about Irish unification. The prospect of Irish unification is now stronger than at any point since partition in 1921. Voters on both sides of the Irish border may soon have to confront what the answer to a referendum question would mean—for themselves, for their neighbours, and for their society. O’Toole and McBride each argue the case for and against unity, questioning received wisdom and bringing fresh thinking to one of Ireland’s most intractable questions.”
Partner Content
The Freedom Plane National Tour is a National Archives traveling exhibition bringing nine original Founding-era documents to eight U.S. cities in commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
Inspired by the Bicentennial Freedom Train, the Freedom Plane National Tour will make documents fundamental to America’s founding accessible to Americans across the country.
The documents will travel aboard a Boeing 737 in commemorative “Freedom Plane” livery—an aircraft that is helping bring these historic documents to communities nationwide.
The nine original, historic documents from the holdings of the National Archives are traveling together for the first time in history from March through August, 2026.
Podcast of the Week
Jenny Gordon joined Roland Rajah for the Lowy Institute’s Conversations podcast: “One More in a Series of Shocks: What the Iran Conflict Reveals About Modern Geoeconomics”
Join Our Team!
The Aspen Strategy Group is seeking a Scowcroft-Nye Fellow with a strong interest in foreign policy and national security. Join our small, fast-paced, collaborative team and contribute to the main pillars of our work, including the Aspen Security Forum, the Rising Leaders Program, and Track II Dialogues.
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