Hormuz Summit Canceled, Europe's Energy Fears, and Sweden's Photo Finish

Oman postpones the Hormuz Summit as Europe faces a gas crunch and Sweden's election hangs by a single seat.

Hormuz Summit Canceled, Europe's Energy Fears, and Sweden's Photo Finish — Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi announced the postponement of the Hormuz Summit "to ensure agreements," a last-minute cancellation that underscores the widening gap between US and Iranian priorities for the strait's future. The Trump administration has made clear it is not interested in discussing the strait, only the nuclear issue; Iran, meanwhile, signaled it would only discuss the nuclear issue after a solution for the strait is found.[^1] The summit's collapse leaves the strait's reopening without a clear diplomatic track. Europe's energy anxiety deepened as UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell warned over the weekend at the YES conference in Kyiv that the energy crisis could become one of Europe's main challenges, calling not to give Putin an advantage. Europe enters winter with gas reserves at their lowest level for this period in 15 years, filled to only about 66%; in Germany, the storage level stands at about 54%, and in the Netherlands at about 48%.[^2] The numbers suggest a brittle buffer against any supply disruption. Sweden's election delivered a razor-thin result: the center-left bloc of Magdalena Andersson won 175 seats against 174 for the right-wing bloc of Ulf Kristersson, with a vote-share gap of just one-tenth of a percent (49.3% versus 49.2%). The forecast indicates a decline in the power of the Sweden Democrats to 17.5%, compared to 20.5% in 2022, while Andersson's Social Democrats remain the largest party with 27.6%, followed by Kristersson's Moderate Party with 20%.[^3] One seat will decide whether the far right enters government. A separate but sharp reminder of proximity to conflict: Russia attacked a truck near Ukraine's border with Poland on Sunday, roughly 800 meters from Poland, briefly halting operations at the Dorohusk-Yahodyn crossing point.[^4] The strike landed close to NATO territory, a geographic fact that carries its own weight. Nauru embassy opening, Halutz accusations, and Haredi maneuvering — A senior delegation from the Republic of Nauru, led by Vice President and Foreign Minister Lionel Aingimea, arrived in Israel for the officia