China leans on Myanmar — and the pitch leaves nothing unsaid

China leans on Myanmar — and the pitch leaves nothing unsaid

Xi Jinping's meeting with Myanmar's President Min Aung Hlaing led the People's Daily on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. The readout invokes 76 years of standing together through thick and thin, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and a commitment to noninterference. China says it supports Myanmar's sovereignty and territorial integrity, stands ready to step up post-earthquake reconstruction, and calls the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor a flagship Belt and Road project.

Gobble's Take: When a friendship needs this many adjectives to describe itself, it isn't small talk — it's statecraft in formalwear.

Source: Perplexity Search (community news)

Iran talks: oil pressure, deadlines, and a deal that nobody fully trusts

Chris Hedges' report puts the global economy on the brink of a major crisis as the United States, with Pakistani government assistance, attempts to finalise an agreement to end the war on Iran. There are still many steps before a complete cessation of US/Israeli hostilities, oil reserves are dwindling, and the report notes a signed deal could still be violated. Mohammad Marandi says power dynamics have shifted in Iran's favour since the Twelve Day War last year, and that Iranians are now largely confident they can win and unwilling to make significant concessions. Pakistan's Shehbaz Sharif said a peace deal was "likely expected" to be finalised within 24 hours.

Gobble's Take: Deadlines, distrust, and dwindling oil are all sitting at the same table. That's not a negotiation — that's a pressure cooker with a clock on it.

Source: Perplexity Search (community news)

Reza Pahlavi says the deal is doomed. Washington says the machinery is already moving.

Visiting London, exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi blasted the upcoming US-Iran peace deal, warning that any agreement leaving the regime in place will fail. He delivered that verdict after a series of briefings with Members of Parliament. Meanwhile, Washington finalised logistics for a landmark treaty with Tehran, and CNN posted what it said was the full 14-point memorandum of understanding obtained from a US official. The same report says the IRGC has launched multiple attack drones toward commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz every night since Sunday's signed memorandum — with the US military shooting them down each time. Iranian oil tankers, for their part, have already exited the Gulf blockade zone, with TankerTrackers calling it the country's "first crude oil exports in two months."

Gobble's Take: One side calls it a landmark treaty. The other calls it a failure in waiting. And in the Strait of Hormuz, the drones are keeping their own opinion.

Source: Perplexity Search (community news)

In Case You Missed It

Yesterday's top stories:

• Iran deal watch: "likely expected" within 24 hours
• Hungary's new foreign minister arrives with a very American résumé
• India's inflation hits a 16-month high as Asia's central banks line up