自2025年5月当选以来，教宗已多次呼吁对人工智能保持审慎态度。 （路透社）

（杜阿拉法新电）罗马天主教教宗良十四世星期五（4月17日）警告，人工智能（AI）的蓬勃发展，可能助长冲突、恐惧与暴力。

在喀麦隆访问的教宗在雅温得的中非天主教大学向师生发表演讲时说：“AI系统带来的挑战比表面所见更大，这不仅是新科技的使用问题，而是现实逐渐被AI模拟的假象取代。”

他指出：“通过这种方式，两极分化、冲突、恐惧和暴力不断蔓延。这不仅仅关乎犯错的风险，更关乎我们与真理之间关系的根本性转变。”

自2025年5月当选以来，教宗已多次呼吁对AI保持审慎态度。他发出的最新警告正值他与美国总统特朗普之间的言辞交锋持续升温。

特朗普最近因发布一张把自己描绘成类似救世主耶稣的AI生成图片而引发争议，有关照片过后已删除。

延伸阅读

特朗普拒道歉 与教宗争端或影响中期选举选情
特朗普批教宗 教宗：会继续为反战发声

在这之前，教宗多次批评美国与以色列对伊朗的军事行动，引发特朗普回击，指他在犯罪问题上软弱无力，外交上也一塌糊涂。

教宗星期四（16日）发表演讲谴责“少数暴君”肆虐世界后，特朗普也称教宗须理解“险恶世界”的现实。

除了AI问题，教宗星期五也批评稀土开采对环境造成的破坏，并呼吁结束采矿业的腐败，认为外国势力正借此掠夺非洲的财富。

稀土是推动AI技术发展的关键要素，也是特朗普政府对非洲政策的核心支柱。

自2025年5月当选以来，教宗已多次呼吁对人工智能保持审慎态度。 （路透社）

（杜阿拉法新电）罗马天主教教宗良十四世星期五（4月17日）警告，人工智能（AI）的蓬勃发展，可能助长冲突、恐惧与暴力。

在喀麦隆访问的教宗在雅温得的中非天主教大学向师生发表演讲时说：“AI系统带来的挑战比表面所见更大，这不仅是新科技的使用问题，而是现实逐渐被AI模拟的假象取代。”

他指出：“通过这种方式，两极分化、冲突、恐惧和暴力不断蔓延。这不仅仅关乎犯错的风险，更关乎我们与真理之间关系的根本性转变。”

自2025年5月当选以来，教宗已多次呼吁对AI保持审慎态度。他发出的最新警告正值他与美国总统特朗普之间的言辞交锋持续升温。

特朗普最近因发布一张把自己描绘成类似救世主耶稣的AI生成图片而引发争议，有关照片过后已删除。

在这之前，教宗多次批评美国与以色列对伊朗的军事行动，引发特朗普回击，指他在犯罪问题上软弱无力，外交上也一塌糊涂。

教宗星期四（16日）发表演讲谴责“少数暴君”肆虐世界后，特朗普也称教宗须理解“险恶世界”的现实。

除了AI问题，教宗星期五也批评稀土开采对环境造成的破坏，并呼吁结束采矿业的腐败，认为外国势力正借此掠夺非洲的财富。

稀土是推动AI技术发展的关键要素，也是特朗普政府对非洲政策的核心支柱。

Trump’s favorite field marshal: Who is Pakistan’s powerful army chief Asim Munir with deep intel ties

2026-04-18 06:00:09 EDT / Fox News

Asim Munir built ties with Iran’s IRGC and intelligence apparatus while serving as Pakistan’s military intelligence chief

By Efrat Lachter Fox News

Published April 18, 2026 6:00am EDT

Mark Dubowitz says Trump holds ‘maximum leverage’ over Iran as ceasefire begins

Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, analyzes President Trump’s firm Iran policy following a two-week ceasefire agreement. He highlights the regime’s weakened state after 15 months of Trump’s administration, making Iran’s 10-point peace plan with “ridiculous demands” unlikely to be accepted. Dubowitz discusses the choice facing Iran’s new regime.

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President Donald Trump publicly thanked what he called Pakistan’s “great prime minister and field marshal, two fantastic people!!!” in a Truth Social post Friday praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s military chief, Asim Munir.

Sharif quickly responded on X, “On behalf of the people of Pakistan, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and on my behalf, I express my deep and profound appreciation for your kind and gracious words.”

The public exchange capped a remarkable rise for Munir, who has become one of the few foreign officials trusted both by Trump and by Iran’s security establishment.

TRUMP AGREES TO 2-WEEK CEASEFIRE IF IRAN OPENS STRAIT OF HORMUZ

In this photo released by the Inter Services Public Relations, Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces and Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir, center, Pakistan Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, left, and Pakistan Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar attend a guard of honor ceremony at the joint military command headquarters in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025.(Inter Services Public Relations via AP)

Munir recently became the first foreign military leader to visit Iran since the latest escalation between the United States and Iran, according to Pakistani and Iranian reports. Arriving in full military uniform, he was warmly greeted by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and held meetings with senior Iranian military officials.

Retired Pakistani Gen. Ahmed Saeed told Fox News Digital that Munir has for months served as an informal back channel between Washington and Tehran, Iran, as the Trump administration tries to negotiate an end to the conflict, Iran’s nuclear program and the naval blockade in the Persian Gulf.

Few foreign figures appear to have closer ties both to Trump and to Iran’s military hierarchy.

That has raised a striking question: How did the same man become close both to Trump and to some of Iran’s most powerful commanders?

Saeed, who said he has known Munir personally for years, told Fox News Digital that Munir began building ties with Iran while serving as Pakistan’s director general of military intelligence in 2016 and 2017.

“He has been interacting with the leadership. He has been interacting with the intelligence community. He has been interacting with the IRGC,” or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Saeed said.

According to Saeed, Munir built ties not only with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps but also with Iran’s regular army and intelligence apparatus. Saeed said Munir had longstanding contact with former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike in 2020, commander Hossein Salami, who was killed in an Israeli strike in June 2025, and other Iranian military figures.

JD VANCE SAYS THE BALL IS ‘IN IRAN’S COURT’ AFTER PAKISTAN PEACE TALKS STALL

Few foreign figures appear to have closer ties both to Trump and to Iran’s military hierarchy.(Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“He continues to be a figure internationally who has personal interactions, a personal equation in the intelligence community in Iran, in the military hierarchy in Iran, in the diplomatic corps of Iran and also on the side of the political leadership,” Saeed said.

That longstanding relationship appears to explain why Iran welcomed him so warmly, even as he remains in direct contact with Trump and his team.

Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Bill Roggio told Fox News Digital that, “Trump should not trust the Pakistanis. Pakistan was a perfidious ‘ally’ in Afghanistan, backing the Taliban while pretending to be our friends. Munir’s ties to the IRGC should be a massive red flag for the Trump admin.”

Munir’s relationship with Trump dates back to the India–Pakistan crisis of May 2025. Munir played a key role in helping de-escalate the confrontation, and afterward Pakistan formally nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, a move widely viewed by Pakistani analysts as encouraged by Munir.

Pakistan’s Asim Munir has become one of the few foreign officials trusted by both President Donald Trump and Iran’s security establishment, according to Pakistani analysts and officials.(Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Since then, Trump repeatedly has praised him. Trump has called Munir an “exceptional man,” a “great fighter” and “my favorite field marshal.”

Pakistani officials and media reports say the two men now speak directly.

Pakistani analyst Raza Rumi told Fox News Digital that Munir’s appeal to Trump is not surprising.

“Trump has long shown a preference for strong, decisive leaders,” Rumi said. “Munir fits that mold as a centralized authority figure who can deliver outcomes.”

WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were greeted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir upon their arrival at Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, April 11, 2026.(Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/AP)

Rumi described Munir as “a disciplined, institution-first leader with a strong emphasis on order, hierarchy and strategic clarity.”

“Unlike more publicly charismatic military figures, his style is relatively understated, shaped by intelligence work and operational experience rather than overt political signaling,” Rumi said.

Munir’s background helps explain both his style and his influence.

Munir studied at the Fuji School in Japan, the Command and Staff College in Quetta, the Malaysian Armed Forces College in Kuala Lumpur, and Pakistan’s National Defence University, where he earned an master of philosophy degree n public policy and strategic security management, according to Pakistan’s Geo News. Munir was the first army chief in Pakistan to receive the Sword of Honour, the military’s highest distinction for a cadet. The outlet also described him as an avid reader, traveler and sportsman.

Munir is also a Hafiz-e-Quran, meaning he has memorized the entire Quran by heart.

A former head of both Pakistan’s Military Intelligence and Inter-Services Intelligence agencies, Munir spent years overseeing Pakistan’s most sensitive regional relationships, including with Iran, Afghanistan and India.

TRUMP AGREES TO 2-WEEK CEASEFIRE IF IRAN OPENS STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Vice President JD Vance shakes hands with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on April 12, 2026, after talks on Iran. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Chief of Defence Forces Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, and U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires Natalie A. Baker look on as Vance prepares to board Air Force Two.(Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

In 2025, after the India-Pakistan crisis, he was elevated to field marshal, the first Pakistani officer to hold the rank since former military ruler Ayub Khan.

Pakistani officials say that later that year, he also was given the newly created title of chief of defense forces, further cementing his authority above the country’s military branches.

Munir rarely gives interviews, but his speeches offer clues to his worldview.

WHO ACTUALLY RUNS IRAN RIGHT NOW? THE KEY POWER PLAYERS AS TRUMP CLAIMS TALKS TO ‘TOP’ OFFICIAL

A former head of both Pakistan’s Military Intelligence and Inter-Services Intelligence agencies, Munir spent years overseeing Pakistan’s most sensitive regional relationships, including with Iran, Afghanistan and India.(Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

At the Margalla Dialogue in Islamabad in November 2024, he warned that “absence of proper regulations for freedom of expression is leading to the deterioration of moral values in societies worldwide.”

The remark reflected a broader emphasis on order, discipline and centralized authority.

Rumi said Munir operates from “a transactional, state-centric worldview rather than an ideological one.”

Yet critics argue that his rise has come at a cost to Pakistan’s democracy.

After becoming army chief in 2022, Munir focused heavily on domestic politics, including what critics described as a crackdown on political opposition and an unprecedented concentration of military power, according to The Guardian, which reported that key negotiations with the United States and Iran have been coordinated not from Islamabad, Pakistan’s civilian capital, but from Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the military.

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A broken frame of Pakistan’s field marshal and army chief, Asim Munir, hangs on the wall after an attack at the Cadet College Wana, a military-linked school, in the South Waziristan district near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Nov. 13, 2025.(Aamir Qureshi / AFP via Getty Images)

Critics say that reflects a broader reality: Pakistan’s foreign policy is increasingly being run by the army rather than the elected government.

Rumi said Munir’s rise reflects “the military increasingly eclipsing civilian leadership in Pakistan.”

As the current negotiations continue, much appears to rest on Munir. Saeed said that is because Munir has spent years building trust on both sides and is unlikely to stop now.

“Knowing our field marshal, and from my own personal knowledge of him, he is relentless. He would not give up,” Saeed said.

Efrat Lachter is a foreign correspondent for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.

墨尔本汽车冲撞人群 一死一重伤

2026年4月18日 18:11 / 联合早报

澳大利亚维多利亚州首府墨尔本（Melbourne）发生一起汽车冲撞人群事故，造成一名行人死亡，另一名行人重伤，目前警方正在对此展开调查。

路透社引述警方星期六（4月18日）发布的声明称，事发时间下午5时（新加坡下午3时）前不久，一辆汽车冲上路缘，撞倒了两名行人。警方补充说，已在现场逮捕了一名嫌疑人。

警方在声明中说：“事故的具体情况尚待确定，调查仍在进行中。”

据媒体报道，事故发生在Supanova动漫游戏展的举办地点。

墨尔本汽车冲撞人群 一死一重伤

2026年4月18日 18:11 / 联合早报

澳大利亚维多利亚州首府墨尔本（Melbourne）发生一起汽车冲撞人群事故，造成一名行人死亡，另一名行人重伤，目前警方正在对此展开调查。

路透社引述警方星期六（4月18日）发布的声明称，事发时间下午5时（新加坡下午3时）前不久，一辆汽车冲上路缘，撞倒了两名行人。警方补充说，已在现场逮捕了一名嫌疑人。

警方在声明中说：“事故的具体情况尚待确定，调查仍在进行中。”

据媒体报道，事故发生在Supanova动漫游戏展的举办地点。

In Virginia gerrymandering fight, Republicans claim Obama’s with them. He isn’t

April 18, 2026 10:05 AM UTC / Reuters

By Nolan D. McCaskill

节点运行失败

Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe in Richmond, Virginia, U.S. October 23, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Obama featured in ads for both sides, potentially confusing voters
• Democrats say new map counters GOP gerrymandering in other states
• Republicans call Virginia Democrats’ efforts a partisan power grab
• Polling shows amendment leading with over 1 million early votes cast

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) – Republicans and Democrats vehemently disagree over whether Virginia should adopt a new congressional map for the November midterms, but they’re leaning on the same person to sway ​voters to their side: former U.S. President Barack Obama.

Ahead of Virginia’s statewide special election on Tuesday, Obama has become an omnipresent voice of an expensive, high-stakes campaign that ‌could be critical in determining which party controls the House of Representatives after November’s elections.

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The former president – once an opponent of gerrymandering – has endorsed efforts by Virginia’s Democratic Party to allow the state’s legislature to create new congressional districts that could give Democrats four additional seats in Congress, offsetting similar Republican efforts undertaken at President Donald Trump’s behest in Texas and several other states.

His position shows how far Democrats have shifted on the issue in the wake of unprecedented Republican-led mid-decade efforts ​to redraw state congressional maps to help their party maintain control of Congress. But Republicans are hoping Virginia’s voters are more swayed by what Obama has said in the past.

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Television and radio ​ads sponsored by two Republican groups use 2017 footage of Obama that blames gerrymandering for political polarization that’s made it “harder and harder to find common ground.” ⁠They urge Virginians to vote no.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said the Obama-centric messaging from Republicans shows their desperation.

“They wouldn’t be lying about Obama’s position if they weren’t desperate and worried,” Kaine said.

Recent ​surveys of likely voters show the yes campaign narrowly leading. More than 1 million people have voted early, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

Should the amendment pass, the new congressional districts would remain in place ​until after the 2030 census.

ALL OBAMA, ALL THE TIME

Obama has appeared in mailers, radio spots and TV ads for both sides of the issue, potentially confusing voters with mixed messaging led by groups with anodyne names.

But Obama endorsed the referendum, appearing in a TV ad where he says: “Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years, but you can stop them by voting yes by April 21.”

Meanwhile, Virginians for ​Fair Maps, a Republican-led committee that has raised nearly $20 million, and Justice for Democracy PAC, a group funded by nearly $9 million from the conservative nonprofit Per Aspera Policy Incorporated, have led the opposition with Obama ​ads.

Both groups’ ads resurface Obama’s April 2017 comments made at the University of Chicago.

“Our president, Barack Obama, knows that partisan gerrymandering is wrong for our democracy. Listen to his words,” a woman says in a Justice for Democracy ‌radio ad.

Republican Representative ⁠Jen Kiggans of Virginia said the strategy to leverage Democrats’ past comments is one the Democratic Party would use if the tables were turned.

“When you put those words in the public sphere, as a politician, they still exist,” she said. “They don’t go away just because you’ve changed your viewpoint.”

REDISTRICTING WARS

Currently, six Democrats and five Republicans compose Virginia’s congressional delegation. A new map would give Democrats a 10-1 advantage in a Democratic-leaning state at the federal level.

The additional four seats in Virginia would be enough to hand Democrats control of the House for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s administration, following a flurry of moves by other ​states.

The redistricting wars started last year in Texas, ​when – at Trump’s direction – Republicans drew new maps ⁠designed to give their party as many as five additional congressional seats. California responded with a similar referendum that could garner Democrats a similar number of seats in that state.

Ohio, Missouri and North Carolina also changed their maps to further favor Republicans, with Florida poised to take up a new map as soon ​as next week.

“If this does not pass, Republicans could gerrymander in all the red states and hang on to the majority and continue to rubber-stamp ​President Trump,” said Virginia Democratic ⁠Representative Suhas Subramanyam.

REPUBLICANS CRITICIZE DEMOCRATS’ EFFORTS

Virginia Republicans have criticized the map as an unfair redraw that would deprive half the state of fair representation and harm constituents’ access to services that help them resolve issues with federal agencies. Democrats have made similar arguments in states that have been redistricted to favor Republicans.

Republican Representative Ben Cline of Virginia did not address Republicans’ use of Obama in advertising but said Democrats’ nationalization of the statewide election would ⁠hurt their cause.

“Enlisting ​national Democrats to try and push this egregious political hackery through next Tuesday is going to backfire,” Cline said. “Republicans and independents ​and moderate Democrats are voting no, and we’re going to defeat it on Tuesday.”

An Obama spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, but Obama has emphasized his position through Democratic advertising.

“We can’t afford two more years of unchecked power and zero ​accountability in Washington,” Obama says in a Virginians for Fair Elections radio ad. “Help us chart a better path forward, Virginia.”

Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan. Editing by Michael Learmonth and David Gaffen

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

深陷能源危机与通胀泥潭 特朗普打伊暴露自身经济死穴

2026年4月18日 18:28 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普周五到亚利桑那州菲尼克斯参加共和党“美国转折点”造势活动，场外民众示威反对特朗普的种种政策。 （法新社）

（华盛顿路透电）美国空袭伊朗七周，既没能推翻神权政府，也未迫使德黑兰全面让步，反而暴露了特朗普政府承受不住战争引发的经济压力，也让全球盟友看清，美国总统特朗普追求自身战略目标时，并不充分顾及它们的地缘政治与经济安全。

路透社星期六（4月18日）发表分析文章指出，伊朗虽遭美军重创，但特朗普和他的幕僚低估了伊朗的反击能力。伊朗通过打击波斯湾邻国的能源设施、掐紧霍尔木兹海峡，触发了史上最严重的全球能源危机之一。

随着美国汽油价格高企、通胀走高、民众支持率下降，特朗普如今正加紧寻求外交出路，以减轻战争对国内形势的冲击，避免打击共和党在11月中期选举保住微弱国会优势的机会。

战事暴露“经济死穴” 中俄看清特朗普软肋

分析指出，美国对手中国和俄罗斯可能从中得出有利于自身的结论：尽管特朗普在第二任期更倾向于动用武力，但只要国内承受过重的经济压力，他就会找寻外交退路。

曾在前总统奥巴马任内担任外交政策幕僚的战略咨询顾问布鲁恩（Brett Bruen）说：“在这场由特朗普亲自挑起的战争中，经济痛楚就是他的致命死穴。”

对欧洲和亚洲盟友来说，令人震惊的是，特朗普开战前既未与它们充分磋商，也未认真评估伊朗封闭霍尔木兹海峡会给它们带来的巨大风险。

华盛顿智库战略与国际研究中心亚洲专家波林（Gregory Poling） 说：“这场战争向盟友敲响警钟，特朗普政府可以不计后果地单方面行事。”

美国官员私下透露，特朗普误以为对伊朗的行动会是一场可控、有限的军事打击，类似今年初对委内瑞拉的闪电行动，或去年6月轰炸伊朗核设施。他对伊朗的误判，被形容与去年低估北京对关税战的反弹如出一辙，只是这一回的后续冲击更为深远。

日韩台重新盘算 区域安全布局或生变

分析认为，中东局势发展，可能向日本、韩国和台湾等亚洲盟友释放一个强烈信号：即特朗普寻求缓和与中国的紧张关系，追求自身的亚太战略目标时，未必会充分考虑盟友的地缘政治和经济安全。

出于对特朗普是否靠得住的疑虑，日韩台在应对突发安全危机的预案和区域安全布局上，如中国大陆以武力拿下台湾，很可能被迫作出调整。

分析也指出，欧洲盟友被中东战争牵连而遭受经济打击，势必更加怀疑特朗普在支持乌克兰对抗俄罗斯问题上的持久决心。

至于波斯湾盟友，虽然都希望战事及早结束，但也担心特朗普最终与伊朗达成的协议，无法真正保障它们的安全。

阿拉伯联合酋长国总统外交顾问安华（Anwar Gargash） 直言：“结束这场冲突的方案，不应在中东地区制造一个持续动荡不安的局面。”

深陷能源危机与通胀泥潭 特朗普打伊暴露自身经济死穴

2026年4月18日 18:28 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普周五到亚利桑那州菲尼克斯参加共和党“美国转折点”造势活动，场外民众示威反对特朗普的种种政策。 （法新社）

（华盛顿路透电）美国空袭伊朗七周，既没能推翻神权政府，也未迫使德黑兰全面让步，反而暴露了特朗普政府承受不住战争引发的经济压力，也让全球盟友看清，美国总统特朗普追求自身战略目标时，并不充分顾及它们的地缘政治与经济安全。

路透社星期六（4月18日）发表分析文章指出，伊朗虽遭美军重创，但特朗普和他的幕僚低估了伊朗的反击能力。伊朗通过打击波斯湾邻国的能源设施、掐紧霍尔木兹海峡，触发了史上最严重的全球能源危机之一。

随着美国汽油价格高企、通胀走高、民众支持率下降，特朗普如今正加紧寻求外交出路，以减轻战争对国内形势的冲击，避免打击共和党在11月中期选举保住微弱国会优势的机会。

战事暴露“经济死穴” 中俄看清特朗普软肋

分析指出，美国对手中国和俄罗斯可能从中得出有利于自身的结论：尽管特朗普在第二任期更倾向于动用武力，但只要国内承受过重的经济压力，他就会找寻外交退路。

曾在前总统奥巴马任内担任外交政策幕僚的战略咨询顾问布鲁恩（Brett Bruen）说：“在这场由特朗普亲自挑起的战争中，经济痛楚就是他的致命死穴。”

特朗普要在22日前达成结束伊朗战争协议 伊朗议长：特朗普一小时内七项声明“全部是谎言”

对欧洲和亚洲盟友来说，令人震惊的是，特朗普开战前既未与它们充分磋商，也未认真评估伊朗封闭霍尔木兹海峡会给它们带来的巨大风险。

华盛顿智库战略与国际研究中心亚洲专家波林（Gregory Poling） 说：“这场战争向盟友敲响警钟，特朗普政府可以不计后果地单方面行事。”

美国官员私下透露，特朗普误以为对伊朗的行动会是一场可控、有限的军事打击，类似今年初对委内瑞拉的闪电行动，或去年6月轰炸伊朗核设施。他对伊朗的误判，被形容与去年低估北京对关税战的反弹如出一辙，只是这一回的后续冲击更为深远。

日韩台重新盘算 区域安全布局或生变

分析认为，中东局势发展，可能向日本、韩国和台湾等亚洲盟友释放一个强烈信号：即特朗普寻求缓和与中国的紧张关系，追求自身的亚太战略目标时，未必会充分考虑盟友的地缘政治和经济安全。

出于对特朗普是否靠得住的疑虑，日韩台在应对突发安全危机的预案和区域安全布局上，如中国大陆以武力拿下台湾，很可能被迫作出调整。

分析也指出，欧洲盟友被中东战争牵连而遭受经济打击，势必更加怀疑特朗普在支持乌克兰对抗俄罗斯问题上的持久决心。

至于波斯湾盟友，虽然都希望战事及早结束，但也担心特朗普最终与伊朗达成的协议，无法真正保障它们的安全。

阿拉伯联合酋长国总统外交顾问安华（Anwar Gargash） 直言：“结束这场冲突的方案，不应在中东地区制造一个持续动荡不安的局面。”

High gas prices become another midterm warning sign for Republicans

2026-04-18 05:00 AM ET / CNN

By Arit John

Fuel drips as a driver finishes up buying gas at a filling station in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday, April 14.

LM Otero/AP

In a midterm election that will likely be decided by how voters feel about the economy, Republicans are grappling with how to discuss the war in Iran and its impact on fuel costs.

Republicans had spent the weeks before the war touting lower prices under President Donald Trump. Now, with the national average for gas rising above $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 and Trump’s economic approval ratings hitting a record low, Democrats are seeking to tie the war to their broader affordability message, arguing that Republicans are more focused on foreign affairs than reducing costs at home.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats’ campaign arm, started running digital ads last month in all of their 44 target districts blaming congressional Republicans for higher gas prices.

Some Democratic candidates like Janelle Stelson, who is seeking a rematch against Rep. Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican, have taken their message directly to the voters at gas stations in the districts they seek to represent.

“We should be spending money at home, not $1 billion a day for a war in Iran,” Stelson told CNN in an interview. “Meantime, you have everybody here in central Pennsylvania saying, ‘Look at me. I need help. I could use a little, teeny piece of that money.’”

(The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, DC-based think tank, has estimated the war costs more than $890 million a day.)

Perry’s campaign did not respond to requests from CNN. But the congressman told City & State Pennsylvania that he hoped to see gas prices fall soon.

“Like so many citizens across our region and nation, I want gas prices to come down, and I understand firsthand the strain these high prices put on families,” Perry said in a statement to the outlet. “It’s everyone’s goal that resolution will be brought to the War in Iran soon, so we can be rid of the threat of a nuclear Iran and energy prices can return to pre-war levels.”

Related article Carlos Ferre fuels up at a gas station on April 6 in Miami, Florida. Gas prices nationally have soared since the start of the war in Iran. Even if the fighting ends, gas won’t immediately return to the pre-war average of less than $3 per gallon. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Oil is plunging, but don’t expect $3 gas anytime soon. Here’s why 4 min read

Oil prices dropped Friday after Trump and Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial vessels for the remainder of the ceasefire between the two nations.

“I think a lot of Republicans are breathing a sigh of relief that this episode is winding down,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist. “Trump was elected to tame inflation and create jobs, and if he can show progress on that before the midterms, Republicans will be in much better shape.”

Republicans have argued that higher gas prices are temporary – even though gas prices tend to shoot up quickly when oil becomes more expensive and take longer to fall when oil prices decline. Analysts say that high gas prices will linger even after the military conflict ends.

The House GOP’s campaign arm also points to policies like tax breaks on tips that it says have boosted incomes.

“After years of Democrats’ reckless policies that drove up costs to record levels, voters see the difference and trust Republicans to keep the economy moving in the right direction,” Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks alongside House Republican leadership during a news conference on the steps of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 15.

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Searching for the right message

Democrats note that lower oil prices don’t necessarily mean voters will feel that at the pump and prices in other sectors are high.

“No matter how hard they try, there is absolutely no way for congressional Republicans to outrun the political albatross that their broken promises on affordability have become when the midterms arrive, and voters reject them,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement.

Throughout the war, Democrats have zeroed in on comments their Republican opponents have made seeking to justify the war or urging Americans to endure higher gas prices temporarily. In Minnesota, Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya encouraged Americans to “keep a stiff upper lip.”

“Maybe you take one less trip to Starbucks and so that gas goes a little further until this thing is over and these gas prices come back down again,” she told radio host Todd Starnes last month. “Let’s just try to be patriots about this.”

In San Diego, where Republicans are hoping to hold onto the redrawn House seat being vacated by Rep. Darrell Issa, San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond defended the war effort days after he launched his campaign last month, saying it was necessary to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

“No pain, no gain,” Desmond said during an interview on Real America News. “It’s unfortunate that oil prices are going up, but I do believe this is a spike and President Trump is right – once we are able to get rid of their nuclear capabilities, oil prices will come down again.”

One of the Democrats running in the open primary for Issa’s old seat, San Diego city councilmember Marni von Wilpert, has referenced the comments throughout her campaign, including at her own recent gas station press conference.

Republicans have also compared the current spike in gas costs to the high prices under former President Joe Biden. Gas prices rose to a record high average price of $5 a gallon in 2022, according to AAA, fueled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US and European sanctions on Russia and the slow return of US oil production and refinery capabilities to pre-pandemic levels.

A pumpjack is seen behind a Pilot Thomas Logistics gas station on March 17, in Odessa, Texas. Diesel prices have surged past $5 per gallon as attacks on energy infrastructure and fuel exports intensify amid the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Asked how much longer his constituents will need to tolerate gas prices over $4 a gallon, New York Rep. Mike Lawler told Bloomberg News his constituents “suffered greatly” under those prices under Biden and “many of my Democratic colleagues said everything was great.”

“But the fact is, this is a short-term fluctuation in the oil markets that we will focus on like a laser to bring down and ensure that gas prices come back below $3 as expeditiously as possible,” Lawler said.

In Democratic-led states like California and New York, where costs for gas and other goods were already high compared to the rest of the country, Republicans are urging their candidates to shift some of the attention to Democratic policies they argue have also contributed to high costs.

“These Republicans in blue states need to run against their blue-state governance — and pretend they’ve never heard of Donald Trump,” said Rob Stutzman, a California-based Republican strategist.

Brent Buchanan, a Republican pollster, advised his party’s candidates to be transparent with voters about the path forward.

“People want to know what the plan is,” he said. “Voters are more forgiving when they know what’s ahead, even if that means we’re going to have high gas prices until the end of August.”

伊朗尚未同意举行下一轮谈判 已告知美方

2026年4月18日 18:43 / 联合早报

伊朗尚未同意举行下一轮谈判 已告知美方

伊朗与美国在伊斯兰堡举行的首轮会谈最终未能达成协议。第二轮会谈原本预定下周举行。 （路透社）

伊朗塔斯尼姆通讯社报道，伊朗尚未同意与美国举行下一轮谈判。伊朗方面已通过巴基斯坦将此告知美国官员。

新华社引述通讯社星期六（4月18日）的报道说，据从有关部门获得的消息，由于美方对伊朗实施海上封锁并在谈判中提出过分要求，伊朗目前尚未同意与美国举行下一轮谈判。

伊朗方面强调，美方“避免提出过分要求”是继续谈判的主要条件，否则，伊朗“不愿将时间浪费在旷日持久且毫无意义的谈判上”。

上周，伊朗议会议长卡利巴夫和外交部长阿拉格齐率领伊朗代表团前往巴基斯坦首都伊斯兰堡，与美国举行和平谈判。这是两国数十年来最高级别的面对面接触。

这些会谈最终未能达成协议，伊朗与美国的第二轮会谈原本预计下周在伊斯兰堡举行。