Are the Chinese taking over management of the Middle East? Have Sweden given up on NATO? Why was I completely wrong about Bakhmut? Read all the answers in this year’s Great Game!

Are the Chinese taking over management of the Middle East? Have Sweden given up on NATO? Why was I completely wrong about Bakhmut? Read all the answers in this year’s Great Game!
While still early days, it certainly seems like Iran is the target of a planned, organized wave of drone strikes. Is it a response to Friday’s attack on the Azeri embassy? Is it a US plot to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions? What’s the endgame?
China’s recent deals with both Iran and Saudi Arabia should be a wake-up call for the West. Xi wants to position China as both the political and economical centre of gravity for the Global South.