On his trip to the Middle East this week, US President Donald Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, though his most pressing regional challenges concern two other countries, Israel and Iran.
After ending a ceasefire two months ago, Israel is intensifying the war in the Gaza Strip, where a blockade on food, medicine, and other supplies is worsening a humanitarian crisis. Iran, an enemy of Israel and a rival of Saudi Arabia, stands on the cusp of being able to develop nuclear weapons, reports AP.
Yet, Trump will focus his attention on three energy-rich nations home to existing or planned Trump-branded real estate projects — places where he aims to leverage American economic interests.
“This is his happy place,” said Jon B. Alterman, a senior vice president at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “His hosts will be generous and hospitable. They’ll be keen to make deals. They’ll flatter him and not criticise him. And they’ll treat his family members as past and future business partners.”
But Trump will not be able to avoid altogether diplomacy on Gaza or Iran; The Gulf countries hosting him are also interested in easing the regional tensions that emanate from these two places.
“Trump can easily score a win by reassuring them of America’s strategic commitment to the region, demonstrating consistent messaging and generally rising above the fray,” analysts Elizabeth Dent and Simon Henderson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy wrote on Friday.
Trump’s move to launch negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program jarred Israel, which fears a deal that would not be strict enough to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or rein in its support for regional militant groups.
Saudi Arabia has said it would only normalize ties with Israel in exchange for significant concessions for the Palestinians toward statehood.
Israel has said it will hold off on expanding the war in Gaza until after Trump’s visit, leaving the window open for a new ceasefire deal to materialise. And while Hamas and Trump announced that the last living American hostage in Gaza, Edan Alexander, will be freed as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, it is not clear what involvement Israel had in that deal.
