Trump's Gulf tour reshapes Middle East diplomatic map

Reuters ^ | May 18, 2025 8:11 AM CDT | Samia Nakhoul, James Mackenzie

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Summary

• Trump's Gulf tour sidelines Netanyahu, marks new Middle East order
• Netanyahu's stance on Gaza, US-Iran talks creates rift with US
• Massive arms and financial deals signal US pivot to wealthy Gulf
• Domestic critics say Netanyahu's policies leave Israel paralysed

Dubai, May 18 (Reuters)- - Nothing captured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's isolation more starkly this week than the image of U.S. President Donald Trump shaking hands with Syria's Islamist leader Ahmed al‑Sharaa - a man Israel has branded "an al‑Qaeda terrorist in a suit."

"He's got the potential. He's a real leader," Trump told reporters after talks with Sharaa on Wednesday in Riyadh - a meeting brokered by his Saudi hosts, with whom the U.S. president agreed a slew of arms, business and technology deals.

Trump's whirlwind four-day tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week was more than just a diplomatic spectacle marked by lucrative investments.

It sealed the emergence of a new Sunni-led Middle East order - one that eclipses Iran's shattered 'axis of resistance', and leaves Israel sidelined, according to three regional and two Western sources.

Amid growing irritation in Washington with Israel's failure to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, Trump's tour was a snub to Netanyahu, a close U.S. ally who was the first foreign leader to visit Washington after the president returned to office in January, the sources said.

The message was clear: in Trump's less ideological, more results-driven vision of Middle East diplomacy, Netanyahu could no longer count on unconditional U.S. support for his right-wing agenda, the sources said.

"This administration is very frustrated with Netanyahu and that frustration is showing," said David Schenker, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs under Republican former President George W. Bush.

"They're very, very transactional, and Netanyahu isn't giving..."

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TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; Israel; Politics/Elections; Qatar; Syria; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: ahmedalsharaa; alqaeda; alreuters; davidschenker; israel; iwbg; jamesmackenzie; qatar; reuters; samianakhoul; saudiarabia; syria; uae; unitedarabemirates; unitedkingdom; waronterror

[GOPJ]

Reuters sucks.
Netanyahu had NOT been sidelined.

[Scrambler Bob]

Breaking news —

Trump brought his golf clubs.

He thought he was going to a Golf tour.

[dfwgator]

And Trump just announced it’s now “The Gulf Of Israel”.

[SunkenCiv]

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[OrioleFan]

Democrat Rooters had to get a Bushie for comment...

[cowboyusa]

President Trump just said yesterday that thier is no distance between him and PM Netenyahu.