President Donald Trump laid out his optimistic vision for the Middle East while speaking Tuesday at a forum in Saudi Arabia.
Trump, on his first trip to the region since taking office for his second term, also made several announcements that sent reverberations across the region.
During his remarks, Trump said he will remove the sanctions on Syria, and directed threats at Iran. He also pushed Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements that established diplomacy between Israel and the Arab nations.
“Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past, and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos; where it exports technology, not terrorism; and where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other,” he said during remarks in Saudi Arabia.
His speech came after his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump told reporters.
The president, in his address, criticized “Western interventionists” for spending trillions and still failing to develop previously war-torn cities like Afghanistan’s Kabul and Iraq’s Baghdad. Meanwhile, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are modernizing.
Trump‘s private meeting with the crown prince yielded $600 billion in trade partnerships between Riyadh and Washington, D.C.
Trump will leave Saudi Arabia for Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. A quick stop in Turkey for ceasefire negotiations between Ukraine and Russia is also on the schedule, according to the White House press pool.
Saudi Arabia and the Abraham Accords
Trump revealed his “wish and even (his) dream”: For Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords.
Signed in 2020, this series of agreements established formal relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
“It will be a special day in the Middle East, with the whole world watching, when Saudi Arabia joins us,” Trump said.
“But you’ll do it in your own time,” he added. For Riyadh, the permanent end of the Israel-Gaza war is a prerequisite to entering a diplomatic agreement.
Syria to no longer face sanctions
Trump said the U.S. will remove its sanctions on Syria, designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the U.S. government in the late 1970s.
“Syria, they’ve had their share of travesty, war, killing in many years. That’s why my administration has already taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations between the United States and Syria for the first time in more than a decade,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet the Syrian foreign minister in Turkey “later this week,” the president added.
Syria endured 14 years of war under a half-a-century-long dictatorship. But, as the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy said, “the fall of (Bashar al-Assad’s) regime marked a major turning point,” a chance for this war-torn country to reclaim its future.
“The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important — really an important function — nevertheless, at the time. But now it’s their time to shine,” Trump said.
“So I say, ‘Good luck, Syria.’ Show us something very special.”
Trump‘s ‘olive branch’ and stern warning to Iran
Trump extended an olive branch to Iran but paired it with a stern warning and an offer that won’t last on the table for too long.
“If Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive, maximum pressure … and take all action required to stop the regime from ever having a nuclear weapon. Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
“This is an offer that will not last forever. The time is right now for them to choose — right now,” Trump said.
As CNN reported, the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S. ended over the weekend without the parties reaching a consensus. Tehran and Washington are expected to engage in more negotiations over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and lifting the sanctions it faces.