Axios: Trump administration is developing a postwar strategy for the Middle East
In the United States, President Donald Trump’s administration has begun developing a postwar strategy for the Middle East. It may provide for strengthening regional deterrence of Iran and normalizing relations between Israel and Washington’s allies, the Jerusalem Post reports, citing Axios.
Work on the plan
According to Axios, two U.S. officials and other informed sources said that the plan is at an early stage. It is intended to define U.S. actions in the Middle East after the end of the war with Iran, as well as during the final years of Trump’s presidential term.
Preliminary work is being carried out by senior Trump administration officials and representatives of several government agencies at the working level. According to Axios sources, Trump also held at least two meetings with senior advisers to discuss the strategy and its possible components.
The publication’s interlocutors also claim that in private conversations, Trump spoke of seeking to do “something much bigger” in the Middle East after the end of the war with Iran.
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Possible components
Among the proposed elements of the strategy are coordinating U.S. allies in the Middle East around Washington-guaranteed efforts to deter postwar Iran. The issue of an agreement to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel and expand the Abraham Accords was also raised.
Another direction could be addressing the regional consequences of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the war between Israel and Hamas. According to Axios, this could include efforts to move to the next stage of Trump’s plan for Gaza, conclude a security agreement between Israel and Syria, and implement Israeli-Lebanese understandings aimed at countering Hezbollah.
Timeline and elections in Israel
A source familiar with the development of the document told Axios that preparing a more comprehensive strategy could take several weeks. According to the source, the administration seeks to combine a number of regional issues into a broader format of postwar cooperation, but the participation of all U.S. allies has not yet been determined.
The Trump administration hopes for cooperation from a new Israeli government, which is to be formed after the Knesset elections on October 27. At the same time, U.S. officials said that Trump will advance the strategy regardless of the election results and possible political resistance from the new government.
