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More than a retreat it gives the US, EU, India, China and the nations in Asia and Africa, Latin America most affected by higher oil prices and lower economic growth a time to pause and rethink dependence on the Gulf region for oil supplies. It is not mentioned in the media yet there has to be a link between the US president's visit to Beijing and Beijing's support for a normalized US China relationship, and offering its support for a settlement. This gives EU, China, India, Japan, and poorer nations in Africa, Asia, such as Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia and Brazil, some relief from reduced access to oil supplies. US is also planning a supply from Venezuela to India to take pressure off oil supplies in Asia by offering Venezuela as an alternative source. China is in many ways joining the US to bring about a denuclearized Middle East, doing it in a quieter way with Iranian public opinion making a shift to put its economic development ahead of missile development. As the two sides have different interpretations and it is still only a Memorandum of Understanding it is not a situation where the US is sending billions of dollars to support the military in Iran as Obama had done. Attention will shift to the Iranian economy over the next 12 months.  US conveys that it has nothing to gain from wrecking the Iranian economy or nation as the Iranian people if avote were held today would clearly choose putting the economy first by huge margins considering the widespread protests in Iran in 2025 that started this crisis. The US naval blockade was effective and is always an option, with US and partners having greater experience in the situation presented by the narrow straits in Hormuz. Arab partners also acted with restraint and is itself an opportunity for Iran to change direction. China's making cuts of 3 million barrels a day in oil supplies from Hormuz is itself along with acceleration of renewable energy in both China and India is one of the dividends of this crisi. Another is the gradual shift to alternative supplies from other regions of the world so that Hromuz region can no longer dictate oil prices in the world. Accelerating Venezuelan and UAE, US, other oil and gas  supply growth will also put increase supply and renewables reduce  demand growth as a result of the crisis to break the hold on oil prices of the oil cartels of Qatar, and Saudis. As a transition fuel oil can be be kept below $50 a barrel, not at prices at the whims of the princes in the Middle East at the expense of the people of the Arab world from Egypt the most populous and Tunisia, Morocco, to the Muslim nations such as Turkey and Pakistan,Iran itself which bore the brunt of this Hormuz crisis. The US has several priorities including in its relations with oil cartels dominated Mexico that  brings drugs and people across US borders, with other nations in EU and Asia that have benefitted through deindustrialization in the US leaving it poorer across a vast part of America. Advancing objectives in one area such as denuclearization does not mean not addressing priorities at home and in relations with other regions. China shares American interest in denuclearization of the Middle East this should now be put to the test. It is an entirely different situation in 2026 than what weak leaders from Bush to Obama allowed to happen by  wars in the Middle East - the US naval blockades of 2025/2026 are entirely different in cost in terms of men and dollar investment and used to convey America's determination not to waste vital resources of the Nation. The best policy is not to pursue policy for absolute wins but make intelligent choices and in some situations pause to reflect on the best course of action and other ways to reach goals. By getting China and the US as world powers for denuclearization even though this is not vocally said, both gain and both will come up with solutions. ...

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This report in The Times says one of the things going wrong at the talks for denuclearization between the U.S. president and Kim Jon-Un of North Korea in Hanoi was Mr. Trump's sense that he had a special rapport with Kim.  Another reason for breakdown in the talks it says was Mr. Trump's view that the most important thing was to end missile testing and further development, not denuclearization. 

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Full text of the Memorandum of Understanding  agreement reached between the US and Iran as presented by the NYT with NYT's comments on paragraphs. NYT takes a skeptical view of the Memorandum while at the same time opposing the war, not making exactly clear what it is standing for in a set of complex negotiations. Much of the media does not reflect the situation in the rest of the world especially in the poor countries, the fact that China, India, Russia, US, almost the entire Middle East, Africa and Latin America support denuclearization in the Middle East- the US simply taking on the burden of achieving this and having to take up a naval blockade for this purpose. As it affects China's vital interests and agreement was reached with China and Russia, it has the support of the EU and India, and the rest of the world, including the Arab world and Egypt, the elected government of Iran if not the military (the RGC). This is not mentioned in the Comments made by NYT. Pakistan was the mediator and it is clear that the countries that are bearing the brunt of this crisis are countries such as Egypt, Turkey, India and Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil, the poorer countries and billions of people including also China's less developed regions, where oil prices and lack of supplies have hit the people hardest. In this sense there is a collective responsibility for ensuring it works for every major country in the world, that has never happened before, and will be the strongest reason for this agreement being the right step at the right time. For all of these countries the future of East Asia and of West Asia is at stake, of EU and the US, of North Africa and the Arab world, and these countries will push for a new direction for the entire West Asian region as well as its relations with East Asia. ...

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In a tactical move the Trump administration links a trade deal with South Korea with progress on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and bringing North Korea to talks on denuclearization. After some offers by the North to open this issue in talks the progress is stalled. The move is an effort to bring more pressure on both Koreas on this issue.

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There is a loss of optimism in South Korea with the failed talks for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. There is a big difference between the goal of the U.S. for denuclearization and the hope in SOuth Korea for an end to the cold war on the Korean peninsula. This report points out that though the U.S. signed an agreement ending the war on the peninsula South Korea and North Korea have never signed a peace agreement. There is in addition to the tensions about the conventional army of the North near Seoul, anxiety about the possible refugee influx from a failing North Korea after tighter sanctions that affect ordinary people in the North imposed by the Trump administration.

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weeks before the trump Kim Jong-Un summit talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, it was evident to the team of U.S. diplomats, sanctions specialists, nuclear experts, that there was a major stumbling block. North Korea wanted much more relief from sanctions than the U.S. was prepared to give in return for a limited denuclearization in North Korea. Still the talks went ahead on the basis of the personal chemistry between Trump and Kim Jong-Un. But former U.S. officials say that in this situation the differences were too big to be solved on the basis of personal rapport alone. For some time ahad of the summit talks in Hnoi the U.S. had already eased its position reports the WSJ, so that the U.S. was no longer insisting that North Korea largely denuclearize during Mr. Trump's current term in office. a full accounting of North Korea's nuclear programs was not required at the start of negotiations. North Koreans also came up with options to close the Yongbyon nuclesr complex. The sticking point was that major sanctions relief was expected without other nuclear facilities being listed for inspection and denuclearization. ...

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The aircraft carrier group led by the USS Carl Vinson enters the East China Sea on April 11, 2017, and destroyers from Japan's maritime self-defense forces are expected to join the American ships. In response to several messages on Twitter by president Trump saying China should take action on solving the North Korean problem or the U.S. would tackle it on its own, CCTV reports Jinping saying- "China is committed to denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula, safeguarding peace and stability on the peninsula." Other news reports show public opinion in China turning towards opposing the missile tests by North Korea.

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 JD Vance as key negotiator of the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran announced June 17 2026 in France at the G-7 Summit in Les Bains, France. Vice President Vance says-about why everything not being put in writing. “There’s a lot of discussion, the MOU, the gentlemen’s agreements, the final deal—words don’t matter, ladies and gentlemen, we’re about verification.” As with the detailed previous agreements the words have little meaning if the intention is to build a nuclear weapon while all the time saying it was for peaceful purposes.  Vance does not mention that in the next 10 years the worst hit from Hormuz are the poor countries Pakistan, India, Arab World in North Africa including Egypt, and even a developing country when it comes to per capita incomes way lower than Europe like China. There will be all these countries backing the US as high oil prices mean economic catastrophe for these countries. This is really what the president DJT means by he did this to prevent economic catastrophe. China has sustained the Iranian economy through this period and China has clearly stated that it expects denuclearization, expects Iran to reverse policy to make a nuclear weapon- as it is the crux of the memorandum's intent. Without it the US would not enter any agreement and there would be no war. Opening up Hormuz is critical for these countries including China to continue their industrial modernization. Vance says- “We have all of the cards." “If the Iranians want the benefit of the bargain they have to give us the things that are necessary to get those benefits.”  There is in Iran itself three groups, one the people, second the elected government of Pezeshkian elected in 2014 to reduce the cost of living and improve living standards, and third the Revolutionary Guard Corps. The entire Arab World, the entire Asiatic Muslim world represented by Pakistan and neighbors find this Memorandum as a lifeline, a step away from the brink of economic catastrophe, which is not shown in the media, all these countries pushing for their very life to get the US to give a chance to two of the three parts of the Iranian people and government (who will ultimately decide Iran's long term course as a part of West Asia as a regional economic development and modernization zone). There are huge stakes here for West Asia and East Asia in this Memorandum of basically intent on the part of the US (consistent with its history and purpose as Nation), and this remains the key guarantor for this opportunity for Iranian people and people of West and East Asia in their progress to modernization and economic progress similar to the path taken by Europe and the US after many struggles of their own (not to mention the Civil War that made the US and two World Wars that made the European Union).    ...

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Ken Adelman, who headed arms control negotiations under Reagan with Russia under Gorbachev, says the Reykjavik summit in October 1986 between Reagan and Gorbachev was a failure because Reagan refused to give up the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative. Months later Russia restarted arms control talks that led to 80% reduction in nuclear missiles and weapons. He says like Reykjavik the failed Trump Kim Jong-Un summit could lead to new talks with important results in denuclearization and normalization in the Korean peninsula. Both leaders Trump and Kim adore being in the spotlight and could return to continue talks he says. Failed talks are not always dead ends is the view expressed by Adelman.

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President Trump uses particularly blunt language as he says the U.S. will take strong action against North Korea. In an address to the UN General Assembly he says the only option is "denuclearization" for North Korea. Trump called the nuclear deal with Iran an "embarrassment to the United States." In this speech and in other speeches he has called it the worst one-sided transaction that the U.S. has negotiated. Secretary of State Tillerson separately has called for its modification.

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Leaders of North Korea and South Korea, Kim Jong-Un and Moon Jae-in meet on April 27, 2018, at the military demarcation line between North and South Korea.  After handshakes and Mr. Moon stepping onto North Korean soil for a few minutes, Kim Jong-Un visits Seoul for peace talks.  This is a historic moment for the two countries as this is the first time since the Korean War (1950-53) that a North Korean leader has visited the South. No peace treaty was signed after the Korean War. During the period of six decades that followed the Korean War, particularly the period after 1980, the South Korean economy recovered from the war and expanded following the Japanese export model with large conglomerates such as Samsung. The North Korean economy has struggled in the period and North Korea is one of the poorest countries isolated for most of this period like Burma from the rest of the world. The development of nuclear weapons was pursued to prevent any external threats to the government, and decades of sanctions followed with aborted efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. Recent ballistic nuclear tests and the installation of a new anti missile system in South Korea led to tighter sanctions with the cooperation of China. This heightened tensions, followed by the tighter sanctions. Kim Jong Un and the government are looking for ways to win approval in the international community, and find a way out of the tight sanctions. South Korea, Japan and the U.S. government are not sure whether this will lead to any results in denuclearization. The summit with Moon will be followed by a summit between president Trump and Kim Jong Un of North Korea. If a way can be found for the North Korean government and party leaders to transition to acceptance in the international community followed by integration of the North and South's economies over an extended period, there is a possibility that denuclearization could work, because it is to maintain the current government in North Korea that nuclear development was pursued in the North. Ideological conflict is now less of a factor in the conflict between North and South Korea as it was in the early days of the Korean War with the Cold War and Communism's advances in Eastern Europe and Asia the big issue at the time. Today China itself is more of a state run economy under the Communist Party following capitalism with Chinese characteristics than the old Communist model, and ideological conflict is not an issue between the U.S. and Communist run countries. This leaves open the possibility of a solution particularly as at some point just as in the case of Vietnam and the U.S., North Korea could see its future more allied with that of South Korea than with China. That leaves an opening for a timetable of transitional actions plus effective implementation stages, with incentives for the U.S. and Japan to negotiate a settlement. ...

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This report in the NYT shows that Mr. Trump thought his forceful personality and going for the big deal would work where a quarter century of diplomacy had failed- to get North Korea to completely give up its nuclear materials and facilities in exchange for complete lifting of sanctions.  The meeting at a French era colonial building in Hanoi was the result of Mr. Trump's sense that he had developed a special relationship with Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader, so that he could suggest a grand bargain to Kim. Meanwhile North Korean negotiators had put forward plans for lifting of the most recent Trump sanctions that were affecting the economy and ordinary people severely in exchange for closing down of the Yongbyon nuclear complex but kept details vague. When Mr. Trump met Kim at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi he gave Kim a detailed list of the nuclear facilities including one that developed uranium near Pyongyang for complete denuclearization, the U.S. goal.  The North Koreans were simply not ready to give up all facilities at once as they said the trust had to be built up before such a move. This report shows the nature of the wild swings from the early efforts to tighten sanctions and take strong action against North Korea., to the meetings in Singapore and Hanoi. At the time Mr. Tillerson at the State Department had suggested after a visit to Beijing that there were 2 or 3 avenues open, which Mr. Trump rejected and instead fired Mr. Tillerson. Mr. Pompeo who replaced Mr. Tillerson at State Department formerly headed the CIA and had detailed knowledge of the North's nuclear program including facilities hidden in tunnels all over North Korea. He and Mr. Bolton the National Security Adviser did not favor having the meetings first in Singapore and then in Hanoi. After the South Korean president's efforts to increase friendship with the North Koreans and his visit to Pyongyang he passed on an offer for Mr. Trump to meet Kim Jong-Un which Mr. Trump in a complete turnaround immediately accepted. This led to meetings in Singapore and then Hanoi with Kim against the advice of Mr. Bolton and Mr. Pompeo. At this point North Korea has suspended further tests but continues its nuclear development. The U.S. has suspended military exercises with South Korea.  ...