Iran Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defense Ministers' Meeting on June 26, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Fu Tian via Getty Images)
Vehicles waiting to be loaded onto roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ships for export on August 12, 2025, in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province of China. (Getty Images)
US Commerce Secretary Howard William Lutnick and Japanese Minister for Economic Revitalization Ryosei Akazawa shake hands on on September 4, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
Chinese military personnel take part in a rehearsal ahead of a parade commemorating the eightieth anniversary of victory in World War II in Beijing on August 20, 2025. (Pedro Pardo via Getty Images)
Senior lecturer in the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University, Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute