Practice MCQs

Explanation: The Islamabad MoU was signed remotely on 17 June by Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, establishing a 60-day extension of a ceasefire to allow negotiation of final terms to end the earlier conflict. The agreement's collapse preceded the eruption of the broader 2026 Iran war on 28 February, when Israel and the United States launched an air war against Iran that killed its supreme leader and several other senior officials, dramatically escalating the confrontation.

Explanation: Iran said diplomatic efforts were underway to revive the Islamabad MoU, a memorandum of understanding signed remotely by Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on 17 June to end the earlier phase of hostilities, which had established a 60-day ceasefire extension for negotiating final terms. The subsequent collapse of that arrangement and the outbreak of the wider Iran war in February 2026 make its potential revival a significant signal for the conflict's diplomatic trajectory.

Explanation: Saudi Arabia issued repeated alerts for its major cities in September 2026 amid the escalating conflict with Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, who have launched drones and missiles at Saudi urban centres as part of the widening regional war. The alerts reflect the kingdom's effort to maintain public vigilance and readiness as attacks that had previously been concentrated near the Yemen border increasingly threatened areas deeper inside Saudi territory, including near the holy city of Mecca.

Explanation: The federal government reportedly contacted Jamaat-e-Islami again for talks on the petroleum levy amid the party's planned protest campaign against fuel prices and inflation. The renewed engagement suggests an attempt by the government to defuse tension ahead of JI's announced "super long march" toward Islamabad, reflecting the recurring pattern in Pakistani politics of last-minute negotiation between the state and protest movements over economic grievances before planned demonstrations proceed.

Explanation: Reports on 19 September 2026 indicated that electricity prices in Pakistan may rise by Rs1.73 per unit, reflecting ongoing adjustments linked to fuel cost variations and broader energy sector cost pass-through mechanisms. Electricity tariff revisions in Pakistan are typically driven by quarterly and monthly fuel cost adjustments approved by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, reflecting changes in the cost of imported fuel, capacity payments and transmission losses within the national grid.

Explanation: By mid-September 2026, the Iran war, which began on 28 February 2026 with joint US-Israeli airstrikes, had entered its seventh month, with fighting having since expanded into a new theatre involving Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi movement. The prolonged nature of the conflict has significantly affected global energy markets, with oil prices rising sharply and complicating Pakistan's own import bill and broader macroeconomic stabilisation efforts during the same period.

Explanation: President Trump confirmed that the United States was holding talks with the Houthis and expressed hope that an agreement could be reached, even as he said Washington was "winning the war against Iran very handily" and predicted the wider conflict would end soon. His comments followed reports that US officials had secretly met Houthi representatives in Oman's capital Muscat, where the group reportedly pledged not to attack US or Israeli vessels.

Explanation: President Trump told reporters that the United States was "hopefully toward the end" of its nearly seven-month war with Iran, saying Tehran wanted to make a deal, while also claiming he had spoken with Iranian officials "directly." His remarks came even as fighting escalated between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen. For CSS International Relations, this illustrates how conflict de-escalation signals often emerge alongside continued military escalation on adjacent fronts of the same broader regional confrontation.

Explanation: Trump said in his announcement that there would be "NO COST to the United States" under the new Greenland security arrangement, describing it as addressing all of Washington's concerns regarding the strategic Arctic territory. The deal notably stopped short of Trump's earlier, repeated insistence that Greenland be made part of the United States outright, instead building on the existing 1951 US-Denmark defence treaty that already grants the US significant basing and overflight rights on the island.

Explanation: President Donald Trump announced that the United States had struck a deal with Denmark giving Washington "permanent control over security, and all other needs" in Greenland, months after repeatedly threatening to take the Arctic island by force. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the agreement would be signed by all three governments, and that it recognised the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Greenland and Denmark. The deal is expected to be signed at the United Nations General Assembly the following week.