Trump's Gulf visit signals potential shift in Middle East policy
Cairo: US President Donald Trump departed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday afternoon, concluding a lucrative four-day Gulf tour, which had also taken him to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Despite expectations that Trump's visit could help calm the conflict in Gaza and ease regional tensions, the US president instead focused his Middle East visit primarily on economic gain, securing multi-trillion-dollar investment commitments from the three Gulf countries.
Analysts believe that, by sidestepping the region's conflict zones and prioritising business deals, Trump's tour signals a potential pivot in US Middle East policy.
Massive commercial deals defined Trump's Middle East tour.
From the outset of his second term, Trump signalled that his first major foreign trip would emphasize promoting US economic interests. On his inauguration day in January, Trump stated he would choose Saudi Arabia as his first destination "if Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450, or $500 billion (worth of US products)."
Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Trump secured an investment agreement with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, locking in $600 billion in investments into the United States.
Among the deals signed was "the largest defence sales agreement in history -- nearly $142 billion dollars," said a White House statement. Under this agreement, the United States will supply Saudi Arabia with "state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen US defence firms."
In Qatar, Trump cut a deal with the Gulf nation to generate "an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion." He also secured commercial deals worth over $243.5 billion, including the sale of 210 US-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X jets to Qatar Airways, valued at $96 billion.
In the UAE, the final stop of the trip, Trump announced $200 billion in bilateral commercial agreements, bringing "the total of investment agreements in the Gulf region to over $2 trillion," the White House noted.
Trump's trip to the Middle East "is all about money," said Rodger Shanahan, a Middle East analyst at the Lowy Institute. "The Gulf states are a source of foreign investment for the United States of a size that makes for good announcements."
"VAGUE ROLE" IN EASING TENSIONS
Despite hopes that Washington would leverage its special ties with Israel to promote a ceasefire and reduce regional tensions, the United States has yet to take meaningful steps toward resolving Middle East conflicts.
During Trump's visit, Israel continued large-scale airstrikes on Gaza, killing dozens daily. In Yemen, Houthi forces and Israel engaged in ongoing retaliatory attacks, while frequent Israeli military strikes against Lebanon resulted in casualties.
Although the United States claimed to aim for Middle East peace, "the reality on the ground contradicts the US stated goals," said Mostafa Amin, an Egyptian researcher on Arab and international affairs. "The killings ... by Israel during Trump's visit raise serious questions about the sincerity of any US peace efforts."
Further disappointment among Arab nations came from Trump's inflammatory remarks on occupying Gaza. At a roundtable with Qatari officials in Doha, he suggested the United States should "take" Gaza and reshape its future.
"I think I'd be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone," he said before reporters. "Let some good things happen, put people in homes where they can be safe, and Hamas is going to have to be dealt with."
"He referenced peace only in the context of hostage releases," observed Amjad Abu al-Ezz, a political science professor at the Arab American University in the West Bank. "There was no mention of a ceasefire, de-escalation or even basic humanitarian corridors (in Gaza)."
Trump did not hesitate to criticize Iran during his trip, calling it "the most destructive force" in the Middle East and accusing it of fueling regional instability. His remarks drew sharp rebukes from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, further heightening already tense US-Iran relations.
"Although Trump's visit yielded some economic gains, the United States has yet to present clear solutions to the underlying regional tensions," said Ali Johar, a UAE political analyst.
By focusing solely on its economic interests and overlooking the concerns of regional populations, Washington appears to be drifting into a "vague role" in addressing the area's conflicts, Johar noted.
POTENTIAL POLICY SHIFT
Trump's trip not only overlooked Arab world concerns but also appeared to sideline Israel's sensitivities.
Unlike his first presidential trip to the Middle East in 2017, Trump's latest visit excluded Israel from his itinerary. On the eve of his arrival, reports surfaced that the United States had even held direct talks with Hamas, culminating in the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.
"Skipping Israel was seen as a reflection of the deteriorating ties between the US administration and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," noted an Al Jazeera analysis.
While in the UAE, Trump acknowledged that "a lot of people are starving in Gaza," a rare statement interpreted as a sign of his growing frustration over Israel's prolonged military campaign.
Analysts suggest Trump, known for his America-first, pragmatic stance, is losing patience with Israel.
"For decades, Israel has leveraged its special relationship with the United States to serve as a gatekeeper to Washington," the Times of Israel wrote in an opinion piece, observing that many in Israel "worried that the best partner they've ever had in the White House had lost interest."
This concern is not unfounded. Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council, said the Trump administration would rather "swim in a stream of Gulf investments than get bogged down in the region's enduring problems."
Apparently, the United States is shifting its focus and policy priorities toward the Gulf region and the economic field, Kheir Diabat, a professor in the International Affairs Department at Qatar University, observed.
"While economic cooperation is certainly beneficial for the region," Diabat added, "what the United States should prioritise now is taking its responsibility and helping restore stability to the Middle East."
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