Trump Administration Drafts Post-War Middle East Plan

The Trump administration is developing a post-war strategy for the Middle East, according to two US officials and two other sources with knowledge of the issue. This strategy focuses on a regional effort to contain Iran and expand normalization of relations between Israel and its neighbors. The plan is still in its early stages and is intended to guide the US approach in the Middle East after the Iran war ends and during the final two years of President Trump's term. Two significant events are looming over the planning: the October 27 election in Israel and the US midterm elections in November. The initial work on the strategy is taking place at both the senior political level of the Trump administration and at the working level across agencies, US officials say. In recent weeks, Trump has held two meetings with senior advisers to discuss the plan and raise ideas. The White House declined to comment on the matter. Three main elements have been raised as possible parts of the strategy: creating a regional alignment among US allies to contain Iran, making a concerted effort to bring the regional fallout from the October 7, 2023, attacks closer to a conclusion, and expanding the Abraham Accords and reaching a Saudi-Israeli normalization agreement. The Trump administration hopes that any new Israeli government formed after the October 27 election will be willing and able to cooperate in the post-war strategy. However, some US officials stress that Trump will push to implement it regardless of the Israeli election results. It will take another few weeks to draft the strategy, according to a source briefed on the process.