Overview

• China paraded more than 10,000 troops through Tiananmen Square and unveiled advanced hardware including a new nuclear-capable triad, hypersonic systems, and undersea drones.
• Xi stood alongside Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in a rare joint appearance and warned that humanity faces a choice between peace or war.
• President Trump accused the three leaders of conspiring against the United States on social media, a claim the Kremlin publicly rejected through aide Yuri Ushakov.
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attended the events, as China, Russia, and Iran sent a letter to the UN opposing a European attempt to restore Iran sanctions via the snapback mechanism.
• Reporting highlights North Korea’s provision of weapons and personnel to Russia in the Ukraine war, while EU foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas called the Beijing tableau a direct challenge to the rules-based international system.