Donald Trump will likely raise five strategic issues during his regional trip and meeting with leaders of the Gulf countries.
According to Ashura News, citing Al Jazeera, US President Donald Trump arrived in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on his regional trip yesterday. In addition to meeting with Saudi officials, he is also scheduled to meet and talk with some other leaders of Arab countries.
Strategic and geopolitical developments in the process of indirect US negotiations with Iran regarding the country's nuclear program, the fall of Bashar al-Assad's rule in Syria, and the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip are among the most important topics that will be discussed and exchanged in Trump's talks with the leaders of the Persian Gulf countries.
In its article, Al Jazeera examined five strategic files in these talks and summarized these files as follows:
Nuclear negotiations with Iran
The start of indirect US negotiations with Iran regarding Tehran's nuclear program and Trump's change of stubborn stance towards the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 are one of the main axes of Trump's negotiations with the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf.
Arab countries have also opened several diplomatic channels with Tehran over the past two years to reduce tensions in the region.
Syria’s new governance and its reconstruction
The Syrian issue, especially after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, is of particular importance to Trump and the Gulf states. Arab countries see Trump’s visit to the region as an opportunity to reconstruct Syria and lift sanctions on the country.
Trump’s serious challenge in this case, however, is to strike a balance between America’s legal obligations and strategic regional interests to improve relations with Syria in the current circumstances. Nevertheless, the United States is trying to expand its influence in the country while paving the way for Arab countries to rebuild the country and establish political stability there.
Al Jazeera adds that the Gulf Arab states are concerned that the hasty US withdrawal from Syria will lead to a new long-term crisis in the country, so they are trying to present a plan for stability in the country with US political support, in cooperation with the Arab League countries.
Trump, who uses every opportunity to impose his costs on Arab countries, will see this plan as a good political opportunity for himself, so that on the one hand he can maintain his political influence in Syria and on the other hand he will not have any military or financial commitments to it.
Stopping the war in Gaza
The continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip has caused a huge humanitarian disaster, and one of the most important aspects of Trump’s negotiations with the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf is probably to explore ways to stop the war.
It is likely that in these meetings, the proposal of the Persian Gulf countries to reconstruct Gaza under American supervision will be raised, in such a way that the sovereignty of Gaza would be entrusted to local technocratic institutions in the region other than Hamas.
Trump will also probably try to revive his achievements in the Abraham Accords and link the process of rebuilding Gaza to the normalization of Arab relations with the Zionist regime. Of course, this issue also faces serious obstacles, including the Zionist regime’s prevention of making fundamental concessions in the war process or the continuation of the division of internal groups in this regard.
Security and Defense Alliances in the Persian Gulf
The issue of security and defense cooperation, arms sales, and strategic contracts is one of Trump’s main motivations for traveling to the Middle East. The Arab countries of the Persian Gulf are highly dependent on US military support, and Trump is expected to announce his commitment to security support for these countries during this trip.
Al Jazeera wrote that the idea of forming a security alliance like NATO in the Persian Gulf may even be raised during these meetings, although this seems unlikely.
At the same time, Trump will link any strengthening of support for the Persian Gulf countries to increasing their defense spending and expanding their level of arms purchases from the United States.
The introduction of new technologies in military industries, such as automatic flight systems and surveillance systems equipped with artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, could be among the most important defense strategies examined in these negotiations.
Artificial Intelligence and Technological Cooperation
Trump's trip to the region may include proposals for bilateral partnerships in the field of artificial intelligence, the establishment of US-affiliated centers in the Gulf countries, and strengthening cooperation in the field of cybersecurity and digital standards. Through these proposals, the United States is trying to create a strategic balance in the face of China's digital influence in countries around the world, especially in the Gulf countries, so it is likely to make proposals in this regard.
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