Geopolitics in 2026 has already shifted sharply, with several flashpoints altering global power dynamics. On 28 February, Israel and the United States launched coordinated strikes against Iran targeting senior leadership, security forces, nuclear facilities, and missile infrastructure. The operation was framed as an attempt to weaken Iran’s nuclear ambitions and encourage regime change. Iran responded with counter-strikes against Israel, US bases across the Middle East, and sites in Gulf states hosting Western forces; UK bases in Bahrain, Qatar and Cyprus were also targeted, prompting defensive RAF deployments.
The conflict comes at a moment of domestic fragility for Tehran. Economic decline and infrastructure failures sparked widespread protests earlier in the year, while the fall of Syria’s Assad government and previous Israeli and US strikes have weakened Iran’s regional position.
Elsewhere, the United States intensified its global posture by capturing Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January, signalling stronger intervention in the Western Hemisphere as wider US-China technology, trade, and resource rivalries continue to reshape the international order.
Sources: UK Parliament, House of Commons Library & Lazard
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