THE WORLD THAT MOVES. Support Israel and weaken Iran. Regarding the Middle East, Donald Trump should continue his first term.
The conflict in the Middle East is one of the major issues facing Donald Trump abroad. The president-elect has already appointed his special envoy for the region. Steven Witkoff, real estate mogul and also a longtime friend and golf partner of the president-elect. We still do not know exactly what his role will be, he who has no diplomatic experience, but what we do know is that in Donald Trump’s crosshairs is Tehran.
“Tightening Iran’s economic stranglehold will be his priority from day one,” says a former member of his team. For him, we must clean up the “mess” left by Joe Biden in the Middle East.
The Republican promises to apply “maximum pressure”. The formula was already in use during his first mandate when he decided to particularly toughen sanctions. The strategy of economic suffocation was intended to precipitate the collapse of the regime. Eight years later, the mullahs are still in power.
Donald Trump struck hard in 2016 by disengaging the United States from the Iran nuclear agreement concluded by Barack Obama. A disengagement which allowed Tehran to accelerate the enrichment of its uranium.
Faced with an Iran more weakened than ever, the new administration could see the opportunity to inflict a decisive blow. In Tehran, some officials now fear that Washington will allow Israel to strike its nuclear facilities.
Israel’s “best friend”
The Israeli authorities are satisfied with the return of Donald Trump. Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the first to congratulate Donald Trump, calling his victory “the greatest comeback in history.” For the Israeli Prime Minister, he is the “best friend Israel has ever had in the White House”.
During his first stint in power, we remember that the Republican had increased his gestures in favor of the Jewish state by moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and by recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights.
The two men have spoken on the phone 3 times since the elections. This is what Netanyahu said, sending his closest advisor and Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, to Florida this week for discussions with Donald Trump.
According to his entourage, Donald Trump wants the war in Lebanon to end before his inauguration on January 20. And obviously the discussions were fruitful. The Washington Post indicates that Israel would consider granting this request as a “present” according to Israeli officials.
“2025 will be the year of annexation”
Meanwhile, an Israeli minister announces that “2025 will be the year of the annexation of the West Bank.” Comments strongly condemned by the head of European diplomacy, who recalls that an annexation would be completely illegal. The settler lobby is boosted by the return to power of Donald Trump.
For Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Finance and leader of a far-right party, Israel is “now only one step away from sovereignty in Judea and Samaria” (the biblical name for the West Bank). He adds: “I have no doubt that the president-elect will support the State of Israel in this approach.”
500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, in settlements that the UN considers illegal, among 3 million Palestinians.
Donald Trump has not yet reacted. In 2020, he presented a plan providing for the annexation of all the colonies scattered across the territory. Proposal applauded by the colonists even if some did not find it radical enough. The 47th president of the United States has not yet said whether he intends to revive the project.
