Pakistan Army Chief Meets Iran FM in Tehran After Khamenei Funeral

🪖 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's army chief in Tehran; diplomats couldn't get in. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Doha is frozen and Iran's authorization chain is fractured. An army chief — not an envoy — meeting Iran's FM signals Islamabad is now bridging military and diplomatic tracks simultaneously. IRGC hardliners won't meet Witkoff; they'll engage Munir. Pakistan's military-led back-channel may be the only format that can reach Tehran's decision-makers before the 60-day MoU window closes.

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Israel Arrests Former Al Jazeera Correspondent in Ramallah

🎙️ RAMALLAH — Israel arrests Al Jazeera's correspondent mid-war; Qatar is watching. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Al Jazeera is Qatari state media — and Qatar is an active back-channel in the Iran-US ceasefire track. Arresting its West Bank correspondent sends a message to Doha at exactly the moment Washington needs

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Kremlin Warns New US Sanctions Would Make Ukraine Peace Deal Harder to Reach

🕊️ MOSCOW — Kremlin ties Ukraine peace directly to the US sanctions calculus. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Washington is tightening Iran sanctions while threatening new Russia measures — Moscow's warning means Ukraine peace now competes for the same diplomatic bandwidth. The Kremlin is forcing a binary: sanctions or talks. With Brent above $100

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Turkey Condemns Houthi Drone Strikes on Saudi Arabia

🇹🇷 ANKARA — Turkey condemns Houthis the same week it nationalized Tehran's bank. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Ankara's defense ministry condemning Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia sits awkwardly beside its state seizure of a US-sanctioned Iran-linked bank this week. Turkey is managing both relationships simultaneously — signaling to Riyadh

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Oil and Dollar Pull Back as Markets Price Ceasefire Signal Over Supply Reality

📉 MARKETS — Oil declining while Hormuz stays mined and Yanbu is struck. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Oil pulling back despite no change in physical supply means traders are pricing Trump's ceasefire signal, not fundamentals. With Hormuz mined and Yanbu struck, the dip is sentiment-driven and fragile. Dollar easing confirms it:

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Israel Arrests Former Al Jazeera Correspondent in Ramallah

Kremlin Warns New US Sanctions Would Make Ukraine Peace Deal Harder to Reach

Turkey Condemns Houthi Drone Strikes on Saudi Arabia

Oil and Dollar Pull Back as Markets Price Ceasefire Signal Over Supply Reality