An Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III ICBM launches during an operation test on February 23, 2021, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (US Space Force)
A protester flashes victory signs as traffic slows during demonstrations in Hamedan, Iran, on January 1, 2026. The demonstrations erupted after shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar shut their businesses to protest the sharp fall of Iran’s currency and worsening economic conditions. (Getty Images)
An Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III ICBM launches during an operation test on February 23, 2021, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (US Space Force)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin on March 21, 2023. (Photo by Pavel Byrkin / SPUTNIK / AFP)
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 19, 2023. (Leah Millis/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army escorts the national flag during a flag-raising ceremony at the Tiananmen Square to celebrate New Year's Day on January 1,2023, in Beijing, China. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
Senior lecturer in the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University, Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Visitors walk past China's second nuclear missile on display as they visit the Military Museum in Beijing, on July 23, 2007. (Teh Eng Koon/AFP via Getty Images)