This week, the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire as Iranian officials reviewed the latest peace proposal, the White House released a new counterterrorism strategy that prioritizes eliminating drug cartels, the Philippines hosted the ASEAN Summit, and President Lula met with President Trump in Washington.
Read more below.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Nicholas Burns and Jonathan Cheng at the Harvard Kennedy School: “Covering China in the Age of Xi”
Anja Manuel and Karim Sadjapour interviewed by Jake Tapper for CNN’s The Lead
Anja Manuel and Stephen Biegun contributed to the Center for European Policy Analysis International Leadership Council’s Annual Report: “Unleashing Defense Innovation: Building a Future-Capable Defense Force”
Kay Bailey Hutchison interviewed by Elizabeth Vargas for News Nation on Iran negotiations
Elizabeth Economy interviewed Sarah Beran, Matt Turpin, and Miles Yu at the Hoover Institution in DC: “Competing Systems: U.S. Strategy in the Age of Chinese Authoritarianism”
Mark Esper interviewed by Carl Quintanilla for CNBC: “Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Returning the Strait of Hormuz to Status Quo”
Jane Harman interviewed by Sara Sidner for CNN on Iran and the U.S.’ memo to end the war
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “An American Industrial Revolution Is Brewing. I Saw It in Pittsburgh.”
Dina Powell McCormick, Bill Hagerty, John Jovanovic, Ruth Porat, and Mark R. Warner interviewed by David Faber at the 2026 Milken Institute Global Conference: “U.S. Economic Competitiveness: AI, Energy, and the Workforce”
Sam Nunn for the Nuclear Threat Initiative: “Statement of Former Senator Sam Nunn Regarding Ted Turner”
Jack Reed interviewed by Martha Raddatz for ABC News’ This Week: “War Powers Resolution Doesn’t ‘Provide for Timeouts Like in a Football Game’”
David Rubenstein interviewed Andrew Ross Sorkin at the 2026 Milken Institute Global Conference: “Author Talk: Andrew Ross Sorkin, ‘1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History’”
David E. Sanger for The New York Times: “White House Insists Iran War Is Over, Even While Missiles Fly”
Anne-Marie Slaughter and James Stavridis interviewed by Fareed Zakaria for CNN’s GPS: “Analysts React to U.S. Plan to Withdraw 5,000 Troops From Germany”
Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer for The Long Game podcast: “Iran War & Trump’s Europe Troop Drawdown: What Comes Next?”
Post of the Week
Young Leaders Spotlight
Features from ASG Rising Leaders and Former Fellows
Rebecca J. Anderson (‘26), Manuel Tovar, Naomi E. Nwokolo, Thomas Gilmore, and moderator Alejandra Y. Castillo at the 2026 Concordia Horizon Summit: “Trade and Investment in a Shifting Global Landscape”
María Fernanda Bozmoski (‘26) for the Atlantic Council
Liana Fix (‘23) interviewed by Mariel Ferragamo for the Council on Foreign Relations: “How I Got My Career in Foreign Policy”
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Marc Caputo for Axios: “Rubio Announces New Cuba Sanctions”
Elsa Conesa and Elise Vincent for Le Monde: “U.S. Considers Scrapping Long-Range Missile Deployment in Europe”
Jim Gomez and Joeal Calupitan for the AP: “Japan and Philippines Agree to Weapons Pact Talks as China’s ‘Coercive Activities’ Cause Alarm”
Jeronimo Gonzalez for Semafor: “Zambia Pushes Back Against U.S. Investment Approach”
Jennifer Jacobs and Kathryn Watson for CBS News: “U.S. to Press Allies to Bolster Counterterrorism Efforts Under New Strategy”
Natsumi Kawasaki and Ramon Royandoyan for Nikkei Asia: “ASEAN Leaders to Create Shared Fuel Reserve for Future Crises”
Dan Lamothe, Karen DeYoung, and Tara Copp for The Washington Post: “Trump Says Ceasefire Still Intact After Burst of Violence With Iran”
Joe Leahy for the Financial Times: “China Hands Two Former Defence Ministers Suspended Death Sentences”
Ian Lovett for The Wall Street Journal: “On Eve of Proposed Cease-Fire, Russia Launches Huge Attack on Ukraine”
Augusta Saraiva and Daniel Carvalho for Bloomberg: “Lula Emerges From Trump Meeting ‘Optimistic’ on Trade”
Daniel Twining for the Washington Examiner: “America at 250: Why Advancing Freedom Worldwide Still Matters”
Dharvi Vaid for DW: “ Taiwan’s Lai Returns From Eswatini Trip Amid China Objection”
Tiago Ventura for TIME: “Rubio Attempts to Mend Relationship With Pope Leo Following Feud With Trump”
Euan Ward for The New York Times: “Israel Says It Killed a Hezbollah Chief Near Beirut, Testing the Truce”
From the Archives
Revisit our fireside chat with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore from the 2025 Aspen Security Forum.
Fireside Chat With Minister Vivian Balakrishnan
Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Singapore
Moderator: Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times
Book of the Week
Inflection Point: Biden, Trump, and the Future World Order
By Thomas Wright
“The old international order is over, and a competition is underway to determine what comes next. Inflection Point is an insider account of how the Biden administration handled global crises and what is to come under Trump and beyond. Written by a senior member of President Biden’s National Security Council, this book argues there are now two Americas – one internationalist and the other America First – that will compete with each other to shape the world.”
Podcast of the Week
Andrew Scobell joined Bonnie Glaser for the German Marshall Fund’s China Global Podcast: “Why China-North Korea Ties Are Warming Again”
