**Iran Fires Missiles at Israel; Israel Conducts Retaliatory Strikes**

Gulf states continue to affirm the United States as their primary security partner. Beijing has offered only indirect support to Iran while avoiding direct confrontation.

South Korea has yet to publicly identify the type of airborne objects that struck the HMM Namu cargo vessel on May 4 while it was anchored off the United Arab Emirates. Yonhap news agency reported that Seoul possesses surveillance footage of the incident but is proceeding cautiously ahead of an upcoming summit with the United States and China.

Preliminary indicators point toward Iranian drones, yet officials have refrained from assigning blame, according to the South China Morning Post and Yonhap.

Chinese leaders view the United States as a declining but still dangerous power whose internal divisions will accelerate its relative fall, an assessment developed over decades that underpins Beijing's decision to avoid direct challenges in the current crisis.

Instead, China is focusing on self-reliance in critical technologies. Beijing's latest five-year plan emphasizes reducing vulnerability to external pressure through domestic substitution in semiconductors, software, aviation and clean energy. Chinese firms continue to expand in electric vehicles, telecommunications and artificial intelligence applications.

Gulf officials emphasize that their security relationship with Washington remains intact despite frustrations with shifting U.S. administrations. Relations with China are described as more predictable and focused on commercial ties. China is already the Gulf's largest trading partner and is increasing foreign direct investment, infrastructure financing and industrial cooperation across the region, according to Semafor.

In Iran, the United States achieved no rapid regime change. The war has produced broader disruptions including energy market turmoil. U.S. strategy has long rested on the assumption that unmatched military capabilities allow Washington to shape outcomes across regions.

Iran's approach, relying on terrain, asymmetric tools and the threat of disrupting the Strait of Hormuz, is viewed as potentially replicable by other smaller states. Neither a comprehensive deal nor renewed full-scale war appears imminent, pointing instead toward a prolonged uneasy equilibrium, according to Responsible Statecraft.

China's export-driven manufacturing surge has provoked protective barriers in the United States, European Union, India, Indonesia and Mexico. Its economic model has also produced domestic strains including slowing growth, mounting debt, deflationary pressures and a severe demographic imbalance from declining fertility and aging population.

Despite these headwinds, Chinese leaders maintain that America's internal challenges are more severe and that time favors Beijing's patient strategy.