During his current visit to the Middle East, U.S. President Donald Trump is stopping in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. However, the more serious regional issues involve two different countries: Israel and Iran.
Two months after a ceasefire ended, Israel has increased its military operations in the Gaza Strip. The blockade there is preventing food, medicine, and other supplies from getting in, making the humanitarian situation worse. Meanwhile, Iran, which opposes Israel and competes with Saudi Arabia, is close to being able to create nuclear weapons.
Even so, Trump is focusing on three wealthy nations where there are already Trump-branded real estate projects or plans for new ones. He wants to use America’s economic ties to do something he enjoys personally: making business deals.
“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 criticize him. And they’ll treat his family members as past and future business partners.”
On Sunday, Trump said he was willing to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar’s ruling family. This led to criticism from some Democrats and people close to the president.
Still, Trump will have to deal with the issues in Gaza and Iran because the Gulf countries he’s visiting want to reduce tensions tied to those situations.
“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 Friday.
Trump is not going to Israel
Trump’s decision not to visit Israel during this regional trip — his first of his second term — has added to concerns in Israel that their priorities may not matter much to him.
These concerns grew last week when Trump said the U.S. would stop attacking the Houthis, a rebel group in Yemen supported by Iran. The Houthis agreed to stop attacking U.S. ships in the Red Sea.
However, their attacks on Israel didn’t seem to be part of that agreement. According to an Israeli official who spoke anonymously, this was a surprise to Israel. A few days later, after Israel carried out two days of airstrikes on Houthi targets, another missile from Yemen caused sirens to go off in Israel. On Sunday, Israel’s military warned that Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen could be hit again.
President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meetingTrump’s decision to begin talks with Iran about its nuclear program also worried Israel. They are concerned any agreement might not be strong enough to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon or supporting militant groups in the region.
Israel had hoped Trump might offer help if it decided to attack Iran’s nuclear sites. But that seems unlikely while talks are happening or if an agreement is made.
This situation has made some in Israel question if Trump can be counted on for other key matters — like the effort to get Saudi Arabia to formally recognize Israel in exchange for American security guarantees. Saudi Arabia has said it would only agree to such recognition if Palestinians are given serious steps toward their own state — something the current Israeli leadership does not support.
Israel has decided to delay expanding its military campaign in Gaza until Trump’s visit is over. This gives some time for a new ceasefire to be discussed. Hamas and Trump said that Edan Alexander, the last American hostage in Gaza, will be released as part of steps to reach a ceasefire, though it’s not clear what role Israel had in that process.
Still, Trump has let Israel act freely in Gaza and, like Israel, he places the blame for civilian deaths on Hamas.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said there was no deeper meaning behind Trump not visiting Israel, telling Israeli media that the focus of this trip is economic.
No major results in nuclear talks with Iran
Iran is closely watching the ongoing talks with the U.S. over its growing nuclear program. Reports suggest a two-month deadline for a deal has already passed. U.S. officials now seem to want Iran to completely stop enrichment — something Iran has said it will not agree to.
Although four rounds of talks — helped by Oman — haven’t produced major results, they’ve now reached what’s called the “expert level,” which means detailed parts of a possible agreement are being discussed.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited both Saudi Arabia and Qatar this past weekend before Trump’s arrival. Iran probably wants to send messages to the U.S. and show it still wants to keep talking. At the same time, Iranian officials are warning more often that they could build a nuclear weapon, while Trump and Israel have both said they could strike Iran’s nuclear sites if talks fail.
Iran doesn’t have many options left. Its economy has been badly damaged since Trump pulled the U.S. out of their earlier nuclear agreement with global powers in 2018. And Iran’s group of allies and militant partners — like Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — has been weakened since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
Inside Iran, leaders also face rising pressure. Many women are now refusing to wear the hijab, or headscarf, which is required by law.
Still, one thing most Iranians agree on is national pride in the Persian Gulf. When Trump suggested that the U.S. might start calling it the “Arabian Gulf” instead, people across Iran strongly objected.
“This gulf has always been the Persian Gulf — and it will forever remain the Persian Gulf,” Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said.
President Donald Trump and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman in a bilateral meetingTrump’s 2017 visit still has effects in the Gulf
After starting his trip in Saudi Arabia, Trump will go to Qatar next. Qatar recently shared plans for a new Trump-branded project.
Trump’s warm ties with Qatar today come years after his 2017 Middle East visit, which many believe led to the crisis in Qatar. That’s when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE cut ties with Qatar because of its support for Islamist groups and its relationship with Iran. Qatar shares a large offshore gas field with Iran.
The situation got so tense that the then-leader of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, told Trump during a visit to the White House that military conflict was a possibility.
At the beginning of that crisis, Trump accused Qatar of being “a funder of terrorism at a very high level.” But less than a year later, he changed his position and spoke positively about Qatar. The four countries ended their boycott shortly before President Biden took office.
According to U.S. officials, any plane Qatar gives the U.S. could be converted into a future presidential aircraft. This would mean Trump accepting a very valuable gift from a foreign government. “This was just a gesture of good faith,” from Qatar, Trump said Monday at the White House, explaining that Boeing had run into delays making the next Air Force One.
