Jon Alterman

Alex Lo has been an SCMP columnist since 2012, covering major issues affecting Hong Kong and the rest of China

Confronted with a series of cascading crises — from a 1970s-style oil shock to a transatlantic rupture threatening Europe’s security architecture—many analysts have reached the same conclusion: the conflict represents a breakdown of the multilateral system and heralds an era of global disorder

Trump downplays Iranian attacks, warns Tehran to keep the ceasefire: They better hope it remains in effect

Despite that public hesitation, Pence has doubled down in support of President Donald Trump’s strategy, portraying it as a necessary stand against a hostile regime

President Donald Trump compared the U.S. Navy to pirates when describing how it was carrying out his orders to blockade Iranian ports

US Redirects 48 Vessels Amid Iran Port Blockade

Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield

Total and complete victory,’ Trump insisted in a telephone interview with AFP after the ceasefire was announced on Tuesday

President Donald Trump is also set to visit China early next month for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping

His comments outside the White House came as US and Iranian delegations continue negotiating late into the night in Islamabad

The late Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon often is credited with devising the formula for ending U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia: That we should declare victory and get out

Trump Vows Troops to Stay With Iran Talks Set Amid Fragile Truce

NATO Chief on Trump meeting: Trump 'clearly disappointed' with allies CNN

The late Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon often is credited with devising the formula for ending U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia: That we should declare victory and get out

After four weeks, President Donald Trump is talking up negotiations to end this conflict that he started alongside Israel

Iran intensifies its offensive with multiple missile salvos, triggering widespread damage across northern and central Israel

Trump listed five primary objectives guiding US actions

He pointed to what he described as a shift in global momentum, three weeks into the joint U.S. and Israeli mission, Operation Epic Fury

The White House has convinced Israel not to attack South Pars gas field again—so long as Tehran does not target Qatar

Iran on Friday threatened to target recreational and tourist sites globally as the nation continues building missiles nearly three weeks after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on the Middle Eastern country

As their war on Iran enters its fourth week, US president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu continue to send out mixed messages about when it will end

What a pity Benjamin Netanyahu remains at large after an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza was issued in 2024

Israel widened its offensive against Iran and its regional allies on Tuesday, striking Iranian-backed Hezbollah positions in Lebanon as Tehran retaliated by targeting Gulf states that host US military bases

The opening 48 hours of the current U.S.-Israeli campaign suggest that Iran has nearly replenished its missile stockpile since the 12-day war in June and refined its capabilities for this round of fighting

Amid escalating US–Israel strikes on Iran, an Israeli eyewitness from Tel Aviv detailed fresh missile attacks and civilian fear

Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to link the massive attack he ordered against Iran to his persistent claims about his 2020 election loss to former president Joe Biden, in a social media post about allegations that Tehran’s government interfered in the US president elections

Democratic leaders are demanding an immediate vote on war powers legislation to restrain President Trump's massive and ongoing military campaign

Waves of Tomahawk and air-launched missiles eliminate Iranian air defenses and military sites as Trump welcomes the toppling of Khamenei’s reign

Explosions rock Abu Dhabi as Iranian missiles trigger emergency alerts, one person is killed by falling shrapnel, and Dubai’s iconic Fairmont The Palm suffers blast damage with multiple injuries reported