The Times of Israel May 13, 2025
Trump starts Mideast trip with crush of problems, outsized certainty he has the answers.

While president intends to press Gulf leaders to pour funds into U.S. economy, they’ll likely press him on how U.S. will address Gaza war, Iran nuclear program and India-Pakistan tensions.

U.S. President Donald Trump set out on a three-nation visit to the Middle East on Monday, a trip he had originally intended to use to focus on his efforts to press wealthy Gulf nations to pour billions in new investment into the United States.

But now Trump finds himself navigating a series of geopolitical crises — and searching for glimmers of hope in the deep well of global turmoil — that are casting greater import on the first extended overseas trip of his second term.

Trump crowed to reporters as he sized up the foreign policy challenges he’s facing as he heads to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“This world is a lot safer today than it was a week ago,” “And a lot safer than it was six months ago.”

The president was brimming with an overabundance of confidence about some of the world’s most intractable problems, from tensions in South Asia to the future of sanctions in Syria to the war in Ukraine.

But behind closed doors, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim al-Thani, and Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed will be looking to get a bead on how Trump intends to push ahead on resolving
1. the war in Gaza,
2. dealing with Iran’s rapidly progressing nuclear program
3. and addressing India-Pakistan tensions.