When Trump travels to the Middle East, countdowns are needed to fix the explosive crisis
A few days before his overseas trip, U.S. President Donald Trump acted quickly to reduce a range of potential disruptions that could have cast a significant impact on his important visit to the Middle East.
Helping a crumbling ceasefire between nuclear powers India and Pakistan. Check.
Even if the international humanitarian community considers this to be infeasible and inadequate, the plans provided for hungry Gaza are outlined. Check.
and get promises from Houthi militants, even if missile launches on Israel continue. Check.
Given the chaos of his presidency and global events seem to be the same as Trump’s surreal speed in charge of the White House, the quick victory he seeks may be short-lived.
Still, Trump is preparing to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday's second international trip, an unstable opportunity.
About 2 million people in Gaza are at risk of hunger due to Israel's three-month blockade on the territory. Syria's sectarian violence left the country and was shaking. And the ghost of a major war between Israel and Iran is vaguely visible.
However, Trump seems to be planning to stop – at least on this trip – some of these issues prefer to focus on the region’s board and investment forums rather than its battlefield.
In addition to staying in Riyadh, Trump will also visit two other stable and wealthy Gulf countries: Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He will attend business parties, presumably ink contracts, and try to make a lot of money in a wealthy area.
“It's a deal, a deal, a deal, a deal,” said Neil Quilliam of Chatham House, a London think tank.
The United States and Britain announced plans for a trade deal on Thursday, which is expected to reduce the financial burden of the UK's massive tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump. The deal is not yet completed and will involve everything from British cars and steel to American beef.
“He seems to recognize that the three Gulf countries are key partners of the United States and he has built very strong personal connections, especially with [Saudi crown prince and de facto leader] Mohammed bin Salman. ”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has known that his kingdom is ready to invest more than $600 billion in the United States during Trump's presidency.
Other Gulf countries have also contended, which makes it possible for deal-obsessed presidents to boast about the possibility of more than a trillion dollars in new business.
No Israel
It is worth noting that Trump chose to bypass Israel during his travels.
Given the Jewish state's status as one of the most important strategic allies of the United States, this is a major omission and perhaps also a sign that the hostility between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has deepened.
On Thursday, the Office of the UN Human Rights Commission issued a hot statement pleading for the world's most powerful countries to interfere in Gaza and accusing them of having to end “the genocide that took place or observe its life in Gaza.”
In the past, Israel has refuted allegations of genocide, crashed the United Nations into an anti-timing agency and claimed that its military would not deliberately target civilians.
By proposing a solution – establishing a food hub in Gaza run by U.S. contractors – Trump may hope (even if only temporarily) to distract from his Gulf trustees.
His earlier idea of turning Gaza into a real estate developer’s dream “Riviera” (compared to ethnic cleansing by some human rights advocates), was filled with disgust throughout the Arab world.
As Trump continues to suggest that Saudi Arabia can abandon part of its desert to create a new Palestinian homeland, Prince Mohammed officials made brief statements, there is no way, never.
“My understanding is that in public places, there is no conversation about this,” Quilliam said of Israel's war in Gaza or the future of Palestinians.
“In the whole Arab world, this is the first issue. But I can't see them [Trump and Prince Mohammed] The head may have any clear or common understanding. I think the focus of this visit will be economical. ”
Strong motivation
Both the United States and Saudi Arabia have strong motivations to focus on money.
Under Prince Mohammed, the country is undertaking an extreme makeover.
Saudi Arabia enjoys a great reputation for human rights in the West.
Public beheadings – 128 people in 2024 – The 2018 murder of Prince critic Jamal Khashoggi is just two of many examples of condemnation by human rights activists in the hands of Saudi security forces.
But others have stressed that the social transformation of the kingdom has been positive in recent years.
Women are no longer closed to work and public life. Nowadays, the mixing between men and women is now common. Female head or face coverings are optional, not mandatory.
Prince Mohamed also tried to position his country as a force in stable in the region and the world by tinkering with his long-time arch rival Iran and attempting to engage in a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
But it is precisely because of the Crown Prince’s efforts to move his country from oil to a more diversified economy that the Saudis may need our greatest help.
Many of Prince Mohammed's very expensive futuristic projects, such as Neom City in the desert, are squeezing Saudi revenue.
Neom was initially considered a $500 million U.S. venture capital, but the first phase of last year alone is expected to cost more than $1.2 trillion, while the final cost of the ultimate huge linear glass city could exceed $8 trillion.
So, putting safer bets, such as joint ventures with the United States, in line up on Saudi shopping lists is now high for Trump to visit.
No normalization
Just as the two leaders may not address much in Gaza, they may not talk to Israel about normalization.
Even after the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, U.S. officials under then-President Joe Biden continued to push Saudis to accept big deals with Israel – diplomatic recognition could be exchanged for economic opportunities.
However, no more.
“A peace agreement for Israel Sudi is almost certainly impossible to achieve for the foreseeable future,” the Royal United Services Institute recently wrote.
He said: “Riyadh knew that Israel's status among Saudi Arabia, Arabs and Muslims had reached the bottom of the rock. At that time, embracing Israel now would be an act of political self-exemption.”
In addition, the United States appears to be ready to abandon its objection to Saudi Arabia's civil nuclear program, canceling one of the largest bargaining chips in the United States to get Prince Mohammed to reach an agreement with Israel.
Given strong concerns about Gaza, Iran and Arab deals, the Middle East played an unusually important role in the early days of Trump’s presidency and months.
But in a new report, the Washington-based Middle East Academy said Trump’s “twilight style”, a mix of mixed messages and tariffs as coercion, all combine to create huge chaos on the region’s U.S. goals.
For example, the institute said Trump spent a lot of energy to initially shroud Hamas and Israel in accepting a ceasefire – but Trump failed to exert pressure to force Israel to stop the war three months ago, but stopped the war three months ago.
The group refers to Trump's Israeli policy as “F”.
It said Trump has done a better job of restarting nuclear negotiations with Iran (“B” level), but by promoting unfeasible plans such as the “Gaza Riviera”, the U.S. has the potential to undermine its influence in the region at a critical moment.
But Trump may surprise his sleeves.
Syria's new president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, also happens to be in the region, and the two may meet them in a historic encounter.
For Trump, he values performance for most other things, which may be a good opportunity.
