Nuclear Issues

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s most recent announcement on Iran policy has raised some eyebrows. He indicated on Monday morning that the Trump administration will not renew waivers to importers of Iranian crude and that other suppliers (meaning Saudi Arabia) have agreed to increase production in to ensure the global oil market remains well-supplied. Skeptics question whether — after last summer’s debacle — there is sufficient trust between Washington and Riyadh for this arrangement to work. What skeptics may not have digested is that, while timing remains a problem, this is a classic win-win situation. It is a near-perfect example of the very limited universe of occasions when transactional diplomacy could actually work.

Following the breakdown of February’s Trump-Kim Summit in Hanoi, Belfer Center experts discussed the impact of the shortened summit. 

While personality has often played a role in high-stakes diplomatic negotiations in the past—for better or worse—experts say successful negotiations depend just as much on professionals who carefully prepare the groundwork. 

CNBC's "Closing Bell" team discusses the outcome of President Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with Nicholas Burns, Harvard Kennedy School professor and former under secretary of state for political affairs, and Christopher Hill, University of Denver professor and former U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

Ambassadors Christopher Hill and Nicholas Burns and Representative Abigail Spanberger discuss the president's summit in Vietnam with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.