August 31, 2026

Good morning! Today is Monday, August 31st 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Ted Snider argues that from Ottawa to Riyadh to Kyiv, U.S. partners are discovering that under President Trump, America's signature is written in pencil, with reversed deals on trade, nuclear cooperation, and Patriot missiles now echoing the earlier collapse of the Iran agreement. On day 184 of the Iran war, top Navy, European, Pacific, and Southern Command leaders have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that extending Persian Gulf deployments is draining munitions stockpiles and weakening American posture in other theaters, even as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei resurfaces in writing to denounce Washington and Israel. Eldar Mamedov takes readers to Karachi, where Gothic cathedrals, Parsi institutions, Hindu temples, and a Christian jazz band at a French consulate reception reveal a Pakistan whose religious minorities. and now for the details. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took to the airwaves on August 22nd to explain why he walked away from trade negotiations with the United States, exposing Canada to steep American tariffs. Carney offered three reasons: the U.S. proposal demanded compromises on the protection of Canadian culture and the French language; it sought to restrict which countries Canada could trade with; and, at the last minute, American negotiators rewrote items already agreed to. Carney told reporters that under President Trump, America's, quote, "signature was written in pencil." As Ted Snider reports, Carney is not alone in that complaint. Saudi Arabia signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, only to see Trump announce the following day on Truth Social that there would be no uranium enrichment permitted, and that the deal was now contingent on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords, conditions never agreed to at the table. Ukraine, likewise, was told in July it would receive rights to manufacture Patriot interceptors. Days later, Trump denied he had ever agreed to any such thing. Snider traces the pattern back to Iran. The 2015 nuclear agreement, which international inspectors repeatedly verified Tehran was honoring, was torn up by Trump in his first term. When Iran signaled willingness to negotiate again this year, including suspending enrichment and accepting expanded inspections, the United States instead bombed Iranian facilities and killed Iranian leaders. Snider concludes that for all the boasts about the art of the deal, what emerges is a pattern of broken deals, one that makes partners and adversaries alike question the value of an American signature. On day one hundred and eighty-four of the Iran war, the Washington Post reports that several senior American military leaders have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that extending operations against Iran risks weakening American defense capabilities in other parts of the world. As Jude Russo reports, the Post cited the mid-August Secretary of Defense Orders Book, the internal document detailing how American military assets and personnel are being deployed. The Navy's top admiral, along with the commanders of U.S. European Command, U.S. Pacific Command, and U.S. Southern Command, all objected to extending deployments in the Persian Gulf. The Army and Air Force supported extending deployments, in some cases into 2027, but flagged risks to other theaters from the diversion of assets. The warnings come amid a string of reports about the depletion of American weapons stockpiles, particularly missile interceptors and long-range precision missiles. Russo notes that extended deployments have taken a particular toll on quality of life aboard naval vessels. Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the war began in February, issued a written statement on the occasion of Muhammad's birthday, calling the rulers of the United States and Israel enemies of the entire Muslim world. AAA reported a national average of four dollars and eight cents per gallon of regular gasoline. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.