“President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea does not just slight a longtime ally but raises broader concerns about the security interests of the United States in Asia and elsewhere,” the Associated Press reports.

“Trump explained his decision by citing South Korea’s refusal to join his war against Iran and pointing to what he said was his good relationship with North Korea’s reclusive dictator, a transactional and personal approach to foreign policy that has defined the Republican’s presidency.”

“The last time President Trump vowed to halt a country’s nuclear weapons program, he held three face-to-face meetings with Kim Jong-un of North Korea, declared that the two men had developed a ‘great relationship’ and walked away empty-handed,” the New York Times reports.

“That was in Mr. Trump’s first term. Not only did the diplomatic effort fail, but Mr. Kim immediately hit the accelerator on his program and today possesses roughly 60 nuclear weapons, by some estimates, as well as missiles that appear capable of reaching the United States — exactly the combination Mr. Trump had vowed to dismantle.”

“For months now, proliferation experts have questioned whether Mr. Trump could also end up walking away from his efforts to check Iran’s nuclear program — especially now that he appears to be more focused on getting the Strait of Hormuz open than on dealing with Iran’s stockpiles of uranium, which are buried under rubble after the United States bombed them in June 2025.”

“The White House for weeks promised that Iran was close to signing a nuclear deal and that Oman could be helpful in reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The tiny Gulf nation suddenly found itself at the center of the effort to end the war,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“This deal, however, has proved elusive. And President Trump’s frustration with this standoff prompted him to threaten to bomb Oman on Monday, as he alleged the country might be standing in the way of an agreement.”

Said Trump: “I don’t think they behaved very well, but we’d handle them very easily just like we do others.”

Mother Jones: Trump burns allies over Iran. South Korea and Oman are next.

“President Donald Trump is providing Russian President Vladimir Putin a window of opportunity to break apart NATO, analysts fear, even as the Kremlin searches for an elusive path to victory in its grinding war of attrition against Ukraine,” Rolling Stone reports.

“American actions are accumulating into an existential crisis for the alliance. Trump and members of his administration continue to openly signal their contempt for allies and unwillingness to defend Europe, as the U.S. becomes bogged down in a costly war against Iran with no apparent exit. Putin may be emboldened by the increasingly strained relationship between NATO and its most important member nation.”

“Intelligence reports from multiple countries have long warned that Russia may be ready to widen the Ukraine war into a direct test of NATO’s resolve.”

“The United States and Canada are inching closer to a deal to avert the imposition of punitive 50 percent tariffs on such Canadian products as hockey sticks, wine and cement,” the Washington Post reports.

“Details remain fluid, and recent talks were contentious ahead of an early-Wednesday deadline. But the emerging accord could pair Canadian tariff concessions along with commitments on energy, defense and critical minerals in return for the U.S. agreeing to shelve President Donald Trump’s new Section 338 tariffs and relax levies on steel and aluminum.”

“President Trump’s cease-fire with Iran in June envisioned a broader deal to end the war and rein in the country’s nuclear program, all negotiated within 60 days,” the New York Times reports.

“But that deadline, set to pass on Monday, has been essentially abandoned, and the war has transformed into a contest of willpower and economic endurance that has no end in sight.”

President Trump threatened to “bomb the shit” out of Oman if the country gets in the way of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reports.

“President Donald Trump said Sunday he directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to ‘substantially reduce’ joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his ‘very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,'” the Washington Post reports.

Said Trump: “These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.”

“President Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner met Hamas leaders in Egypt on Sunday to press them to carry out their commitment to disarm, according to two sources familiar with the meeting,” Axios reports.

“This was Kushner’s first meeting with Hamas leaders since the signing of the agreement to end the war in Gaza last October.”

”The unusual meeting came as the White House and Trump’s Board of Peace push both Hamas and Israel to move to the next phase of the U.S. 20-point peace plan.”