This week, the U.S. and Iran traded attacks as negotiators from both countries neared an agreement to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Israel carried out strikes in Beirut, foreign ministers from the Quad met in New Delhi, and the Shangri-La Dialogue kicked off in Singapore.
Read more below.
Albright International Leaders Program
The Aspen Strategy Group is proud to launch the Albright International Leaders Program (AILP) in honor of former U.S. Secretary of State, longtime Aspen Institute Trustee, and member of the Aspen Strategy Group, Madeleine K. Albright, recognizing her storied career and her dedication to cultivating and inspiring future leaders.
AILP is a complement to the existing ASG Rising Leaders Program, supporting leadership development for international professionals in foreign policy. This program will bring together a cohort of U.S.-based international mid-career professionals supporting embassies, multilateral institutions, and international organizations, connecting them to the Aspen Institute’s core vision of building a thriving community of leaders driving impact across geographies, generations, and viewpoints.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Nicholas Burns, Wes J. Bryant, Michael Lynton, and Joshua Steiner interviewed by Christiane Amanpour for PBS’ Amanpour and Co.
Anja Manuel interviewed by Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu for Bloomberg’s Balance of Power: “Former Diplomat on Iran Talks, Oil Disruption”
Chris Brose interviewed by Ross Douthat for The New York Times’ Interesting Times podcast: “Our Military Is Built for the Wrong Century”
Bill Burns interviewed by Shashank Joshi for The Economist’s Insider podcast: “A Former CIA Boss on How to Handle America’s Adversaries”
Chris Coons interviewed by Martha MacCallum for Fox News: “Sen. Chris Coons Casts Doubt on Trump’s Effectiveness Against Iran”
Mark T. Esper for Fox News: “Crypto and the Blockchain Tech Behind It Give U.S. a Sizable Military Advantage”
Richard Falkenrath for the Financial Times: “Tech Giants Need Oversight to Protect National Security”
Michèle Flournoy interviewed by Leslie Vinjamuri for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Deep Dish on Global Affairs podcast: “Is the U.S. Entering a New Era of Global Power?”
Michael Froman interviewed Jamieson Greer at the Council on Foreign Relations: “U.S. Trade Rep. on Trump Administration’s Trade Strategy”
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “Trump’s Iran Exit Ramp Is a Long Shot. He Doesn’t Have a Better Option.”
Dina Powell McCormick profiled by Ellie Austin for Fortune: “Why Meta Hired Dina Powell McCormick to Help Sell Its Vision for AI in Washington and on Wall Street”
Meghan O’Sullivan and Jason Bordoff for the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies’ Oxford Energy Forum: “After Hormuz: Energy Security in a Fragmented World”
David Petraeus interviewed by Lim Hui Jie for CNBC: “Iran Is in the ‘Process of Blinking’ Over the Strait of Hormuz”
Daniel B. Poneman for The National Interest: “America Doubles Down on a New Nuclear Energy Future”
Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson interviewed Chuck Robbins for Semafor’s The CEO Signal podcast: “Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins on AI Transformation, Hard Decisions, and Leading at Speed”
David Rubenstein interviewed by Stephen Engle for Bloomberg Television: “Everybody Wants Fed Independence”
David E. Sanger, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, and Tyler Pager for The New York Times: “U.S. and Iran Move Toward Agreement to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz”
Jake Sullivan interviewed by Aaron MacLean for the School of War podcast: “The Democratic Party’s Worldview”
Robert Zoellick interviewed by Hansong Li for the WorldViews podcast: “Stakeholders of a Fractured World”
Post of the Week
Young Leaders Spotlight
Features from ASG Rising Leaders and Former Fellows
Rebecca J. Anderson (‘26) quoted by Reshma Kapadia for Barron’s: “‘Made in America’ Faces a $2 Trillion Reality Check”
María Fernanda Bozmoski (‘26) and Ignacio Albe for the Atlantic Council: “With the Strait of Hormuz Closed, the Panama Canal Is Busier Than Ever. It Should Use This Windfall Lightly”
Michael Salazar (‘25) quoted by Amit Chowdhry for Pulse 2.0: “Microsoft And Black Tech Street Announce Greenwood Cyber + AI Lab Opens In Tulsa”
Thomas J. Shattuck (‘26) for Thinking Taiwan: “The Trump-Xi Summit: Implications for the U.S.-Taiwan Relationship”
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Marc Caputo for Axios: “Trump’s Accelerating Squeeze on Cuba”
Andrew R. Chow for TIME: “How Pope Leo’s Call to ‘Disarm’ AI Clashes With Trump’s Tech-First Agenda”
Denise Chow for NBC News: “NASA Announces 3 Uncrewed Missions to the Moon This Year to Prepare to Build a Base”
Isabel Debre and Paola Flores for the AP: “5 Things to Know About the Protests Challenging Bolivia’s New President”
Yuwen Deng for Foreign Policy: “China Needs North Korea on Its Side”
Jon Emont and Rebecca Feng for The Wall Street Journal: “The High-Seas Black Market That Keeps Iran’s Illicit Oil Flowing”
France 24: “WHO Chief Says Deadly Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo Can Be Stopped”
Samantha Granville and Paulin Kola for BBC: “Israel Hits Lebanese Capital in ‘Targeted Strike’”
David M. Halbfinger and Johnatan Reiss for The New York Times: “Netanyahu Says Israel Will Control 70 Percent of Gaza, Squeezing Hamas”
Katarina Hoije for Bloomberg: “Senegal’s Dismissed Premier Sonko Elected Speaker of Parliament”
Dan Lamothe and Gerry Shih for The Washington Post: “U.S., Iran Nearing Deal to End War and Reopen Strait of Hormuz”
Christopher Miller and Max Seddon for the Financial Times: “Ukraine Is Turning the Tables”
Andrew Oros, Elizabeth Threlkeld, Akriti (Vasudeva) Kalyankar, and Kelly A. Grieco for the Stimson Center: “Takeaways From the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting”
Nathan Rennolds for Euronews: “Russian Drone Strikes Romania, Prompting Fierce Criticism Across Europe”
Luis Simón and Stephen G. Brooks for Foreign Affairs: “The Right Way for Europe to Spend More on Defense”
Kentaro Takeda for Nikkei Asia: “Asia Security Summit Opens With U.S. Strategy in Focus Amid Iran War”
De Zheng for DW: “New Chinese Surveillance Leaves Foreigners Nowhere to Hide”
From the Archives
Revisit our conversation with Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska from the 2025 Aspen Security Forum: DC Edition.
Fireside Chat With Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska
Radmila Shekerinska, Deputy Secretary General, NATO
Moderator: Nick Schifrin, PBS NewsHour
Featured Partner Event
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Book of the Week
How to Win a Trade War:
An Optimistic Guide to an Anxious Global Economy
By Soumaya Keynes and Chad P. Bown
“We used to take trade for granted…. Now we are in an era of trade conflict and can no longer avoid the fight…. Keynes and Bown argue that the rules of the game have been abandoned, and a different strategy is needed. Yearning for the old approach to start working again isn’t an option. Countries must adapt, which means learning from history, economics, and from each other—including China. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
The authors explore the history, the players, and the rules of trade, and consider how we can prepare for what the future might hold…. Accessible and leavened with an appealing wit, this book explains how to win a trade war, where ‘winning’ might mean minimizing the losses, and the weapons that we wield—subsidies, stockpiles, export restrictions and, of course, tariffs—have the potential to hurt us, too.
How to Win a Trade War is the guide to one of the global economy’s biggest challenges.”
Podcast of the Week
Laura Chinchilla and Rafael Grossi joined Adrienne Ross for Florida International University’s Hemispheric Security podcast: “Leadership in Trying Times”
