As Trump heads to the Middle East, fixing explosive crises takes a back seat to deal-making

In the days before his travel overseas, U.S. President Donald Trump moved rapidly to tamp down a agelong database of imaginable distractions that could overshadow his hugely important sojourn to the Middle East.

Help broker a shaky ceasefire betwixt atomic powers India and Pakistan. Check.

Outline a program to provender starving Gaza, adjacent though planetary humanitarian groups person deemed it unworkable and insufficient. Check.

And get a committedness from Houthi militants to halt attacking occidental shipping successful the Red Sea, adjacent though rocket launches against Israel continue. Check.

Given the chaotic quality of his presidency and the surreal velocity astatine which planetary events look to determination with Trump successful complaint astatine the White House, the speedy wins he's seeking whitethorn beryllium fleeting.

Nonetheless, Trump is poised to get successful Saudi Arabia connected Tuesday connected the archetypal large planetary travel of his 2nd word astatine some a precarious and opportune time.   

Around 2 cardinal radical successful Gaza are astatine hazard of starvation due to the fact that of Israel's three-month-long blockade of the territory; sectarian unit successful Syria has near that state teetering; and the spectre of a large warfare betwixt Israel and Iran looms implicit the region.

And yet, Trump appears intent connected parking — at slightest for this travel — immoderate of those issues, preferring alternatively to absorption connected the region's boardrooms and concern forums alternatively than its battlefields.

Along with the halt successful Riyadh, Trump volition besides sojourn 2 different stable, affluent Gulf countries: Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He'll be concern gatherings, presumably ink contracts and effort to drum up large bucks successful a portion that has wealth to spend. 

"It's deals, deals, deals," said Neil Quilliam of Chatham House, a London-based think-tank. 

WATCH | Details of U.S.-U.K. commercialized statement inactive to come:

"He seems to admit the 3 Gulf countries ... arsenic cardinal partners for the U.S. and he's established precise beardown idiosyncratic links, particularly with [Saudi crown prince and de facto leader] Mohammed bin Salman."

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, oregon MBS, as he's known, has antecedently said his kingdom is prepared to put much than $600 cardinal US in the United States during Trump's word arsenic president.   

The different Gulf countries person besides anted up, giving the deal-obsessed president the irresistible anticipation of boasting astir landing implicit a trillion dollars successful caller business.

No Israel

Notably, Trump has chosen to bypass Israel connected his trip.

It's a important omission fixed the Jewish state's presumption arsenic 1 of the U.S.'s astir important strategical allies — and possibly besides indicative of a deepening animus betwixt Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Thursday, the bureau of the UN Human Rights Commission enactment retired a searing statement, imploring the world's astir almighty countries to intervene successful Gaza, charging that they indispensable extremity "the unfolding genocide oregon ticker it extremity beingness successful Gaza." 

In the past, Israel has refuted the accusations of genocide, slamming the UN arsenic an antisemtic instauration and claiming that its subject does not deliberately people civilians.

By proposing a solution — establishing nutrient hubs successful Gaza tally by U.S. contractors — Trump whitethorn beryllium hoping to, if lone temporarily, diffuse a important occupation spot with his Gulf hosts. 

His earlier musings astir turning Gaza into a spot developers' imagination "riviera" — what immoderate quality rights advocates likened to ethnic cleansing — was met with disgust passim the Arab world.

And erstwhile Trump went connected to suggest that Saudi Arabia could springiness up portion of its godforsaken to make a caller Palestinian homeland, Prince Mohammed's officials issued terse statements saying nary way, never.

"My knowing is that successful the nationalist space, there's going to beryllium nary speech astir this," Quilliam said of Israel's warfare successful Gaza oregon the aboriginal of Palestinians.

"Across the Arab world, it's the No. 1 issue. But I don't spot them [Trump and Prince Mohammed] butting heads oregon coming to immoderate wide oregon communal understanding. I deliberation the accent of this sojourn is going to beryllium economic."

Powerful motivations

Both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have almighty motivations to support the absorption squarely connected money.

Under Prince Mohammed, the state is undertaking what amounts to an utmost makeover.

Saudi Arabia has a unspeakable estimation connected quality rights successful the West.  

Public beheadings — determination were 128 successful 2024 — and the 2018 execution and dismemberment of crown prince critic Jamal Khashoggi astatine the hands of Saudi information forces are conscionable 2 of galore examples quality rights campaigners decry. 

But others stress the societal transformations successful the kingdom successful caller years that they spot arsenic positive.

Women are nary longer unopen retired of jobs and nationalist life. Mixing betwixt men and women successful nationalist is present common. And wearing caput oregon look coverings for women is optional, not mandatory.

Prince Mohammed has besides been trying to presumption his state arsenic a unit for stableness successful the portion and the world by mending fences with longtime arch rival Iran and attempting to broker a bid woody betwixt Ukraine and Russia. 

But it's with the crown prince's efforts to modulation his state distant from lipid to a much diversified system that the Saudis whitethorn request U.S. assistance the most.  

Many of Prince Mohammed's outrageously costly futuristic projects, specified arsenic the Neom metropolis successful the desert, are squeezing Saudi revenues.  

Neom was initially pitched arsenic a $500 cardinal US venture, but past twelvemonth the archetypal signifier unsocial was projected to outgo much than $1.2 trillion, with the last measure for the immense linear solid metropolis perchance topping $8 trillion.

So lining up safer bets, specified arsenic associated ventures with the U.S. implicit captious minerals, are present precocious connected the Saudi buying database for Trump's visit.

No to normalization

Just arsenic the 2 leaders apt won't be resolving overmuch connected Gaza, they besides apt won't beryllium talking astir normalization with Israel.

Even aft the Hamas onslaught connected Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, U.S. officials nether then-president Joe Biden continued to prod the Saudis into accepting a expansive woody with Israel — diplomatic designation successful speech for economical opportunities.

No longer, though. 

"An Israeli-Saudi bid woody is astir surely beyond scope successful the foreseeable future," Royal United Services Institute chap H.A. Hellyer wrote recently.

"Riyadh knows Israel's lasting among Saudis, Arabs and Muslims globally has deed stone bottom. To past clasp Israel present would beryllium an enactment of governmental self-immolation," helium said. 

Besides, it seems the United States is prepared to drop its objections to a Saudi civilian atomic program, removing 1 of the U.S.'s biggest bargaining chips to get Prince Mohammed to onslaught a woody with Israel.

The Middle East has played an unusually ample relation successful the aboriginal weeks and months of Trump's presidency, given the aggravated absorption connected Gaza, Iran and Arab woody making.

But successful a caller report, the Washington-based Middle East Institute said Trump's "zigzagging style," mixed messages and usage of tariffs arsenic an instrumentality of coercion person each combined to make immense disorder astir U.S. objectives successful the region.

For example, the institute says Trump expended sizeable vigor to initially cajole some Hamas and Israel into accepting a ceasefire — but that Trump has been unsuccessful astatine pressuring Israel to halt its warfare since Netanyahu broke the ceasefire 3 months ago. 

The radical gave Trump's Israel argumentation an "F."

It says Trump has done amended connected restarting atomic talks with Iran (a "B" grade) but by promoting unworkable plans, specified arsenic the "Gaza Riviera," the U.S. risks weakening its power successful the portion astatine a captious time.

Trump may, however, person a fewer surprises up his sleeve.   

The caller president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, besides conscionable happens to beryllium successful the portion and determination are hints the 2 men whitethorn conscionable successful what would beryllium a historical encounter.  

For Trump, who values showmanship implicit astir everything else, it whitethorn beryllium excessively bully an accidental to walk up.