As Iran and Oman close in on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the real story is why Washington and Tehran still can't talk to each other directly, and why Muscat always ends up in the room.

North Korea and the United States have never recognized each other's governments, not for a single day since 1948. A Swedish embassy and a UN channel in New York are still the only lines either side keeps open.

Washington keeps a Marine-guarded compound in Taipei that does everything an embassy does except carry the name. The reason dates to a single 1979 decision that still shapes US-Taiwan relations.