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President-elect Donald J. Trump’s agenda in the region is not yet clear, but the geopolitical landscape has changed significantly since he was last in office.
- Nov. 17, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET
The first Trump administration’s Middle East policy had two main elements: battering Iran’s economy and attempting to isolate Iran by building closer ties between its main Arab adversaries and Israel.
On the second part, the administration made a major breakthrough in its final months: the so-called Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. The accords also came with American promises of large weapons deals for some of the signatories.
Officials at the time said they hoped that Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s most influential country in geopolitics, would eventually also sign and recognize Israel — a goal that President Biden also pursued without success.
President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Middle East agenda remains unclear, but what is certain is that he will inherit a geopolitical landscape in the Middle East that is significantly different compared with that of four years ago.
Alliances have shifted, and priorities have changed. Age-old tensions have deepened in some places and thawed in others, while the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza, could convulse the region for years.
Last week, Mr. Trump appointed Steve Witcoff, a real estate magnate and campaign donor, as his special envoy to the Middle East. Mr. Witcoff, a staunch defender of Israel, was in attendance when Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, addressed Congress in July. The president-elect’s choice for secretary of state, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and for U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, have also offered unwavering support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
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