Trump's tour in Middle East increases Arab states at the expense of Israel

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Alexander Ward, Alex Leary, Stephen Kalin, The Wall Street Journal 5 min read May 17, 2025, 02:10 IST Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, welcomed President Trump with his arrival Thursday in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Summary of the White House opinion differences with Israel has more to do with Trump’s agenda than a long-term divergence, analysts say. Abu Dhabi president Trump elevated the Persian Golf Monarchies in his four-day swing through the Middle East and at least eroded the centrality of America’s decades of alliance with Israel. His embrace of leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates stood out when Trump bypasses Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he has become more distant in recent months. Even before Trump arrived in the region, movements, including the unilateral agreement of the administration with Hamas, the release of the last remaining US hostage in Gaza, or the Israelites surprised, and the two allies synchronized by the largest flash points of the region. The movements also highlighted a difference with his predecessor, Joe Biden, who focused on the Woo of Netanyahu, months of often-fruitless diplomacy to stop the war in Gaza and restore his relationship with Saudi Arabia, which he called a ‘Pariah State’ before accepting office. The question for Trump is whether the shift of Israel is something more than tactical. The American remains of Israel’s nearest ally and main weapons provider. Israel’s support in Congress, although damaged by the war in Gaza, makes it difficult, if not impossible for any White House to significantly downgrade the relationship. Trump had a careful relationship with Netanyahu for a long time. He did not win the public congratulations of Netanyahu to Biden after his victory in 2020 presidential elections, co -workers say. But their current differences of opinion have more to do with Trump’s agenda than any long-term divergence, analysts said. “The differences are real and the tension is real,” says Steven Cook, an Middle East expert at the Foreign Relations Council in Washington. But “People make a great deal that Israel remained from the itinerary.” Netanyahu had two meetings with Trump and Israeli leaders remain in close contact with their American peers, he noted. For Arab governments, even a temporary swing in their direction was welcome. “For those in the Gulf who thought that the only way to America was through Israel, we now see an opening where we can go directly to the states,” says Bader Al-Saif, an expert on the Persian Gulf and Arabic affairs at the University of Kuwait. ‘We have access to the number one man. He is listening. ‘ Golf countries become ‘the partner of choice’, Joel Rayburn, Trump’s nominee as the top official of the State Department, said during a confirmation of the Senate on Thursday. The president’s journey “proves that it is time for us to expand on our relationships in the wave, expanding it from safety to prosperity,” he added. But in a reminder that the conflict of the region often gained optimism about transformed relationships, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the war of Israel in Gaza when Trump left the region and which he called “repeated assaults by the Israeli war machine on the Palestinian population.” Gaza made little mention when the oil-rich wavy countries paraded Trump through large palaces and a decorated mosque, dedicated to trillions in the US investment, invited the top business leaders for luxurious events, lined streets with mounted camels and horses and illuminated buildings-which include the American flag of the world. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, welcomed President Trump upon his arrival Thursday in Abu Dhabi. His hosts praised Trump, who avoided delivering the well -known messages through past human rights administrations. Arabs did not need Westerners to give a lecture on how to live, ‘Trump said. No one pulled out the stops more than the Saudi, the deep bags of regional heavyweight that, after decades of passivity, began to bow his muscle. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman led Trump throughout the 36-hour visit, ending with Trump who said the Monarch farewell to the tar road. “The US-Saudi ratio was a base of safety and prosperity,” Trump said during his stay in Riyadh. “It’s more powerful than ever before, and by the way, it will stay that way.” Trump added that it was his dream for Saudi Arabia to normalize the relations with Israel, which would amount to a diplomatic master’s stick that could transform the Middle East and a great unfulfilled purpose of Biden’s presidency. Trump told a big gathering in Riyadh, with Prince Muhammad in the front row, that the kingdom could make the decision at its own time, an acknowledgment that a formal diplomatic approach was unlikely, as long as the war in Gaza continued. Arab governments have previously heard vows of US support – including Trump during his first term – only to see that Washington remains more in line with Israel than with them. In 2019, during his first term, Trump promised to repay against Iran following a drone attack on a Saudi oil facility that blamed the US on Tehran, but he canceled the strike and angered Saudi leaders. Katari -Militarian Jets escorted Trump’s plane when he was prepared to land in Doha on Wednesday. But it was Netanyahu who recently found himself on the outside, which started in April when Trump announced core conversations with Iran during the Israeli leader’s visit to the White House. Although Trump said he preferred an agreement with Tehran not to develop a nuclear weapon, he threatened that Iran could be attacked if no agreement was reached. The approach will again align Trump with Netanyahu’s view on how to stop the core program of Iran. Yet it is only one of the differences of opinion between him and Israel. Earlier this month, he concluded an agreement with Houthi militants to stop attacking US ships, but not Israel. Before arriving in the Middle East, he negotiated the release of Israeli US hostage Edan Alexander with Hamas, while Israeli hostages remained in captivity, and during the trip this week he agreed to lift sanctions on Syria to a personal attraction by Prince Mohammed, with Israel, skeptical of the new government. When Trump came to the Middle East during his first term, he also made Saudi Arabia his first stop, but he later flew to Israel, met with Netanyahu and prayed at the western wall in Jerusalem and became the first sitting president to do so. This time, in Abu Dhabi, Trump made his first visit to a mosque as president, a beautiful turnaround for a politician who once declared: “Islam hates us.” Write to Alexander Ward on alex.ward@wsj.com, Alex Leary on alex.leary@wsj.com and Stephen Kalin at Stephen.kalin@wsj.com Catch all the politics news and updates on live currency. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates and live business news. More Topics #Middle East Crisis Mint Specials