Where does India, you know, how does it impact India and the region as a whole?

So it started out with a collective defense arrangement that essentially extended Pakistan's nuclear umbrella to the other two countries.

And that's something that's been in negotiation for at least a year that I know of.

Some describe it as an Arab NATO because of an Article 5-like provision, which would claim that an external attack against one member would be treated as an attack against all three.

What that actually translates to.

inaction remains to be seen because as of yet, despite the fact that there has been multiple attacks on various Saudi agreements, they haven't called on the other two countries to intervene in any significant way.

And those attacks were serious attacks on ships, on economic targets.

absolutely absolutely irena moving on to the last topic of the day u.s china fighting over ai data center in egypt what's about that what's happening there in egypt

Help us understand what is happening in terms of key appointments and what do we know about, uh, the Supreme Leader's health?

So the first thing to know is that a video surface showing the alleged Supreme Leader, uh, Ayatollah Khamenei, uh, he seemed to be more or less okay, but it could have been anything.

It's unclear whether that video was manipulated or not.

Uh, however, uh, however, um, that appears to be the first gesture by Iran to clarify the biological status of the Supreme Leader, so to speak.

And as for the key appointments, they're related to the fact that the regime has been replacing personnel following enormous losses among its senior political, military, and security leadership.

Uh, these changes should be read primarily as an effort to restore institutional continuity after decapitation strikes and, um, internal shocks.

Um, so one of the key appointments is Mohsen Rezaei.

What are the mechanics? Who will get impacted? What will they benefit? Will it last? What does it cover? Who is the winner here? Who is the loser here? How does it impact the region?

And explain in terms of China's position here.

Well, both sides have tried to renew diplomacy, and they were pushing for a 10-day tactical pause to at least regroup and to get breathing room, especially after the Arab Gulf states have suffered a lot of economic damage recently, the Houthi attack has shut down a Saudi oil facility.

So all of that is bringing significant economic damage and distress, even if the internal situation remains relatively calm and manageable for now.

Houthis have also attacked several vessels.

And the latest is that there was an attack on a US ship, on a US-backed tanker in Egypt, which was set on fire, which indicates the increasing distance, the increasing reach of those countries.

And of course, Jordan, too, is being bombarded as well, though mostly the missiles have been successfully intercepted again for the time being.

China has a commercial interest in all of this.

Do you think he will get some more ammunition and all that to make an end to the war much sooner, especially after the whole impetus with these drones and robots and everything, and reaching even St. Petersburg?

What does this all show about the new Japan that is coming up and also vis-à-vis its equation with India in the coming days in terms of especially security, you know, especially with vis-à-vis China?

So in the past, Japan's position was dictated by the constitutional framework that was, uh, adapted in the post-World War II order.

And Japan was basically dependent on the US as a guarantor of its security.

But two things happened over time.

First of all, u- active US presence in local bases became extremely unpopular on the one hand.

On, on, on the other, US became increasingly, um, disinterested in guaranteeing anyone's security, not just Japan's, uh, especially under the Trump administration, and became less and less re- reliable in that rega- regard.

At the same time, China became more overtly militant, um, much more aggressive.

[laughs]

How should we understand? Does it make any sense or will it make sense in the coming days or months?

So the deal was finally signed after many delays, but it is not what people think it is.

Now, symbolically, Lebanon did recognize Israel as an existing entity, which I suppose is progress after over 75 years.

But in practice, it doesn't mean much.

In terms of pragmatic implementation, it is a loss, not a victory for Israel, because it is being pressured by the US to give up its current military positions in favor of very flimsy security guarantees.

The problem is Iran has managed to link the Lebanon situation to the MOU between the bilateral MOU with the US.

So essentially it's putting the burden on US and today the announcement was made in very, very plain language to keep Israel in line and out of Lebanon in order for these peace talks to proceed and to have any chance of essentially agreeing to anything such as reopening the Strait of Hormuz, by the way, which can be closed off at any point.

What's happening? How should a person anywhere else out of Europe or anywhere else understand what's happening between Poland and Ukraine, who have such a good relationship?

So tomorrow what happens? Who are the invitees there? Who will be the ones signatories on that particular piece of paper document? And what are the things that will be on that piece of paper any idea about they were talking about earlier they were so many talks about so many points now i guess there was 14 points i don't know what any idea on what will be on that piece of paper at least for this initial part of the signing ceremony who else is invited is pakistan invited is israel also invited there

No, the only two parties who are actually signing are US and Iran.

Nobody else is signing.

Whether there are going to be any other representatives in the audiences observing is also unclear.

Israel has definitely not been invited.

Not only that, but Israel has not been allowed to see the final version of this MOU that's supposed to be signed tomorrow.

And even the version that was supposed to be signed electronically, I'm not sure whether Bloomberg News, which revealed the 14 points you mentioned, whether that was in fact a final version or a draft.

Looks like the world has been different.

So tomorrow what happens? Who are the invitees there? Who will be the ones signatories on that particular piece of paper document? And what are the things that will be on that piece of paper any idea about they were talking about earlier they were so many talks about so many points now i guess there was 14 points i don't know what any idea on what will be on that piece of paper at least for this initial part of the signing ceremony who else is invited is pakistan invited is israel also invited there

No, the only two parties who are actually signing are US and Iran.

Nobody else is signing.

Whether there are going to be any other representatives in the audiences observing is also unclear.

Israel has definitely not been invited.

Not only that, but Israel has not been allowed to see the final version of this MOU that's supposed to be signed tomorrow.

And even the version that was supposed to be signed electronically, I'm not sure whether Bloomberg News, which revealed the 14 points you mentioned, whether that was in fact a final version or a draft.

Looks like the world has been different.

What happened? What did not happen? Any key takeaways that matters to us, our audience?

Well, from China's perspective, it definitely was a message to the international community.

Simply put, China does not wish to provide high level of representation to summits and gatherings it perceives to be associated with Western efforts to influence the region.

And all of that is fairly expected, given the great power competition context.

And China's message is also to underscore that that competition is very much happening rather than this is a simple, normal engagement.

It seeks to exacerbate.

this polarization and to force the other countries in the Asia Pacific, in Asia to choose even if they do not necessarily want to choose, as has been made clear at various points.

So what does this all mean? Where does Japan want to go with that? And what does it mean to China in that sense?