Trump: The Deal-Maker in Our Midst

CrossFireArabia
Opinion
May 14, 2025

US President Donald Trump begun his Middle East tour on 12 May, starting in Saudi Arabia with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, then moving on to Qatar and concluding in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Trump will be accompanied by a large delegation, including senior White House staff, several ministers, high-ranking officials, and an army of businesspeople. At the core of Trump’s tour to the influential and wealthy GCC states—Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE—will be investments, economic ties, business, and bilateral relationships. The Trump administration aims to attract hundreds of billions of dollars in investments from Gulf wealth funds into the United States.

Expected discussions include Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Palestinian statehood, negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and the ceasefire deal with Yemen’s Houthi group. Additionally, Syria and Lebanon may also feature on the agenda. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is reportedly seeking a meeting with Trump during his visit to Saudi Arabia, aiming to persuade him to lift sanctions and increase US involvement in Syria’s reconstruction, economy, and oil sector.

Trump critically needs this tour to project an image of a successful leader who has secured hundreds of billions of dollars in pledged investments and deals, as well as closer political and security ties with GCC states. Hundreds of agreements are anticipated during the visit, covering areas such as AI, transportation, minerals, energy, infrastructure, aviation, defense, and potentially broader agreements on semiconductors and nuclear energy.

Matter of prestige

The significance of this tour is heightened by the fact that Trump is facing both internal and external challenges, having yet to achieve any substantial victories in his ongoing struggles. These include the tariff dispute, Israeli involvement in Gaza, the Iran nuclear deal, Russia’s war in Ukraine, tensions with Canada and Greenland, and his ongoing conflict with China. An image of victory during his Gulf tour would help compensate for these setbacks. Gulf leaders are well aware of this and will arrange exceptional welcome ceremonies and generous hospitality for him. In other words, they will arrange a wonderful show for him. This not only caters to his personal ego but also enhances his standing both domestically in the US and internationally, where he is in dire need of a win. The outcome could create a win-win situation. However, it is important to note that not all the promises made during this tour will materialize. While some initiatives may come to fruition, others may remain merely part of the spectacle.

Unlike his first visit to the region during his initial term in the White House, which included Israel, Tel Aviv is notably absent from his current itinerary. This exclusion is quite significant. Under Netanyahu, Israel has little to offer the US president, aside from more problems, a negative image in the region, and a tarnished reputation for the president himself. It serves as a reminder of his failure to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, largely due to Netanyahu’s unwillingness to pursue it.

In a previous interview following Biden’s election at the end of 2020, Trump explicitly blamed Netanyahu for the failure of his peace initiative with the Palestinians, stating, “Netanyahu never wanted peace.” Amid the ongoing conflict, initiatives aimed at encouraging Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel—an objective pursued by Trump during his first term—are likely to remain on hold. Riyadh has indicated that it requires tangible progress toward a Palestinian state first, a condition that Israel has not been willing to meet. However, Reuters reported this week that the US has shifted its stance and is no longer insisting that Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel as a prerequisite for advancing discussions on civil nuclear cooperation.

Desire to appear as dealmaker

Regardless, Trump’s Middle East tour represents more than just a diplomatic engagement with key US allies; it is a calculated effort to reclaim geopolitical momentum and project strength amid mounting domestic and international challenges. The emphasis on economic deals, defense cooperation, and strategic investments highlights Washington’s strategy of leveraging the Gulf’s financial and political capital to enhance Trump’s image as a dealmaker-in-chief. However, beneath the pomp lies a web of unmet expectations and unresolved conflicts.

While Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are acutely aware of Trump’s need for a symbolic win, they remain cautious about committing to politically costly moves without tangible concessions, particularly concerning Palestinian statehood. Ultimately, this trip may provide short-term optics that bolster Trump’s leadership narrative, but its long-term impact will depend on whether these engagements translate into sustained commitments or fade into the background noise of global challenges.

Dr Bakir is Assistant Professor at Qatar University, and non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

Opinion

Kareem Khan – Chronology of a Scandal: A View From Amman

Saleem Ayoub Quna
July 29, 2026

By Saleem Ayoub Quna

Another somber episode in the ongoing Middle East saga is about to be quietly scrapped by manipulative overt hands and emerging developments, that are no less than disappointing!

The story of the main character of this episode began long time ago in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1970, when a child was born to a dermatologist Scottish mother and a Pakistani father of the same trade!

The child was named Kareem Asad Ahmad Khan, who grew up to educate himself in Law, later to pursue a judicial career, until he landed as top job in The Hague, the Netherland, in 2021, and eventually becoming the Chief Persecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

It was at this juncture that he replaced Ms. Fatou Bensouda, a lady of Gambian origin, who was seeking to investigate the never-ending tragic situation in Gaza and the West Bank under the Israeli military occupation.

Scuffle With Mossad

Bensouda stepped down after 17 years of service at the ICC, including the last nine years as Chief Prosecutor. On her point of departure, she made it clear that the Israeli head of intelligence, Yossi Cohen, met her more than once and told her to drop the charges she was making against Israel’s actions in the two Palestinian territories, but she would not bow, until she officially resigned on 15 June, 2021.

And so since the beginning of his new appointment the new chief prosecutor, and like his predecessor, Khan was charged of continuing to investigate cases, situations and/or individuals suspected of offenses such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression, where and whenever, they occurred, whether in Ukraine, Darfur, Belarus, Afghanistan or in Gaza and which indeed become his nightmare, magnified by an Israeli genocide on all accounts that began on 7 October 2023 and lasted for 2 years, 9 months and more, and was declared ‘De Jure’ in October 2025.

No one warned Mr. Khan that he was stepping into a thick minefield, or if they did, he would only listen to his heart and conscience! For that, he must have been bracing for the worse, for himself, and probably for the thousands of war victims he was investigating.

The war in Gaza led to the death and injury of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, (nearly 75,000 dead and more than 200,000 injured), whereas for the Israelis, they suffered 1200 dead and at least over 5000 injured.

So, in May 2024, Khan adopting a “balanced” position despite the flagrant disparity between the two sides on all levels, announced the arrest warrants for five main individuals directly involved in Gaza war: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and the top three leaders in Hamas: Yehya Sinwar, Mohammd Dief and Ismail Haniyeh.

Days after the issuance of these arrest warrants, the name of a certain local female employee (known only as Sarah) suddenly popped up at the ICC, as the alleged victim of sexual harassment at the hands of non-other than the honorable Chief Prosecutor, Kareem Khan!

In an orchestrated follow up, the US Treasury Department in February 2024 imposed sanctions on Khan, after President Donald Trump sanctioned the ICC judges for issuing the said arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Galant.

And in May 2025 Khan stepped down as Chief Prosecutor due to the said allegations of sexual misconduct, and was suspended pending a vote by the state members of the ICC.

In July 2026 Khan was ousted from his post as 82 out of 125 ICC member states voted, in secret, in favor of his dismissal!

As for the Palestinian leaders who were also involved in that war, Israel took things in their hands and ended the life of the three Hamas leaders: Mohammd Deif was killed in Khan Younes on 13 July 2024, Yehya Sinwar killed in the same city on 16 October, 2024 and Ismael Haniyeh was assassinated in faraway Tehran on 31 July, 2024.

The question now is whether the candidate for the Chief Prosecutor post at the ICC, will follow suit in the footsteps of his two predecessors, regarding the unfinished business of atrocities and war crimes around the globe, or will he/she be somebody of a new breed of international prosecutors?

Soon we may have a clue! But personally, I am not optimistic!

Opinion

West Bank: A Ticking Time-Bomb

CrossFireArabia
July 28, 2026

By Ismail Al Sharif

Imagine you are sitting with your children at home when a violent knock shakes the door. You open it to find a blond, European-looking man holding a weapon in one hand and a Torah or Talmud in the other, with soldiers behind him.

He orders you to leave the house, saying: “God gave me this house 3000 years ago.” You reply, “But it’s my home; I was born here, and my father and grandfather were born here before me.”

They push you aside, storm into your house, and throw your furniture outside. Your children cry, they throw your wife out, and your blood boils. You wrest the weapon from the blond man and shoot him. They kill you, and then a bulldozer comes to demolish your house.

The next day, the world’s newspapers headline: “Army kills terrorist after he tried to attack occupation soldiers.”

You might go out in the morning to graze your sheep, and in the distance, you see a few fair-haired young men who have pitched a tent on a fenced-off plot of land on a hill. At first, the scene seems fleeting, but soon you see them approaching your land, wandering among your olive trees and your flock, then attacking you, stealing your livestock, and burning your trees.

After that, they seize part of your land and annex it to the area they have taken over. The fence extends day by day, growing longer and wider. Over time, your land, and the land of your relatives, friends, and all the people of your village, becomes part of the nucleus of a new settlement.

Roads change, streets are closed, and checkpoints are erected, until reaching a place only a few hundred meters away becomes a journey that takes hours.

These scenes are repeated daily in the West Bank, where settlers terrorize, assault, and kill Palestinians under the protection of the occupation army, while ministers from the occupation government appear in the background of these attacks. The goal is clear: To empty the West Bank of its original inhabitants, both Muslims and Christians, and uproot them from their land, paving the way for its seizure and Judaization.

All of this is happening in full view of the world, amidst President Donald Trump’s objections and the condemnation of the international community, at a time when his 20-point peace plan was announced in a celebratory atmosphere on September 29th of last year.

However, time has revealed that this plan was nothing but ink on paper. The occupation continues to control over 60% of the Gaza Strip, demolishing buildings and bulldozing agricultural lands in the areas under its control. It also continues its daily bombardment of the Strip, which, since the plan’s launch, has resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Gazans and injured more than 3,600 others. This is while the siege continues and humanitarian aid is prevented from entering.

As for the West Bank, settlement outposts have expanded, and the occupation government recognized 19 additional settlements after the plan’s launch. This coincides with an unprecedented escalation in settler attacks, the continued demolition of homes and displacement of their residents, as well as the ongoing incursions into Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps.

The government of war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu makes no secret of its plans to annex the West Bank and thwart any attempt to establish a Palestinian state, while its leader orders the occupation army to launch continuous military campaigns in West Bank cities, villages, and refugee camps.

The West Bank today sits atop a powder keg, fueled by accumulated feelings of anger, fear, frustration, and resentment, awaiting a spark that could ignite the situation. Then, the sporadic confrontations could transform into a widespread popular uprising, which could very well extend beyond the borders of the West Bank.

No one knows how wide the circle of confrontation might widen, where it might spread, or the extent of the repercussions it might have in Jerusalem, the Palestinian territories within Israel, and neighboring countries. Arab governments and their armies may find themselves facing mounting popular and political pressure, pushing them either to engage in a confrontation they do not want, or to take positions and actions they have long sought to avoid.

This article was originally written in Arabic by Ismail Al Sharif and published in Jordan’s daily newspaper Ad Dustour and is reprinted in crossfirearabia.com. Mr Al Sharif long worked in newspaper management and publishing in Amman.

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Trump: The Deal-Maker in Our Midst

CrossFireArabia

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