Asia & the Pacific

In the eyes of Mike Pompeo, the day was shaping up to be one of his most commanding displays of diplomacy since becoming secretary of state. Months of planning had finally yielded a meeting among reluctant European officials, Arab leaders and the Israeli prime minister to strategize over confronting Iran.

During the Trump administration, the usual ways of conducting diplomacy have been upended. Many positions in the State Department have never been filled, and meetings with foreign leaders such as Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin have been undertaken with little advance planning. What effect are these changes having now, and how will they affect ongoing relationships between the United States and its allies and adversaries?

President Donald Trump, convinced that he alone can break stalemates with adversarial counterparts on trade and security, will put his theory to the test in Argentina this week. Global markets and foreign capitals are eyeing him anxiously.

This year’s Halifax International Security Forum paid respect to the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, but in its final plenary session, Future Tense: Our World in Ten, the attention shifted to the future. How will the issues discussed throughout this year’s Forum play out over the next decade? Will democratic states be able to defend their values and institutions from growing threats like great power politics and cyber-warfare? This diverse set of panelists spoke confidently and optimistically about the resilience of democracies to withstand this challenge.

UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump defined Iran in harsh terms during a major address to the United Nations on Tuesday, defending his administration's decision to pull the U.S. out the controversial 2015 nuclear agreement.

"Iran’s leaders sow chaos, death and destruction," Trump told representatives from more than 130 other countries meeting in New York. "Iran’s leaders plunder the nation’s resources to enrich themselves and to spread mayhem across the Middle East and far beyond."

Trump's remarks focused heavily on the concept of sovereignty over globalism, which he said the United States rejects. The "America first" remarks drew on a similar speech he delivered at last year's United Nations, but included more detailed examples of how that vision informs his policies on trade, immigration and the world's hot spots.

Amb. Nicholas Burns discusses protests near the fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel as the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem is set to open.

The Right Honourable Douglas Alexander offered his views on European security in a discussion moderated by FDP Executive Director Cathryn Cluver.