Trump unhappy with Netanyahu, Israel not to be in Middle East deals, says Financial Times

U.S. President Donald Trump is unhappy with the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, therefore, is excluding the country from the process of normalizing relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Financial Times (FT) writes.

As noted, the U.S. leader is mainly dissatisfied with Israel’s plans to resume hostilities in the Gaza Strip. The first sign of Trump’s irritation came during their White House press conference in April, when he refused to reverse the 17 per cent tariffs he had slapped on Israel. The U.S. also has a growing trade deficit with Israel. In Trump’s mind, that makes Israel a net taker.

The newspaper notes that the worst moment for the Israeli leader came when Trump revealed the U.S. was talking to Iran directly. The U.S. keeps springing surprises on Netanyahu, cutting Israel out of the deals it is making.

Next up could be a potential civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, which would bypass the initial proposition of Israeli-Saudi normalization in exchange for a Saudi-US defense pact. If ever there was a golden opportunity for Israel to secure a future at peace with all its neighbours, that was it.

As noted, the decades-long alliance between Israel and the US will endure and reports of a rift have been swiftly denied. But Trump’s message to Netanyahu is clear: get with the programme. And the programme does not include forever wars with unachievable goals, but focuses on foreign policy victories and providing investment opportunities for the economy in the Middle East.

U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE as part of his Middle East tour from May 13 to 16. Aside from a brief visit to Rome in late April to attend Pope Francis’ funeral, this is the U.S. president’s first full foreign trip since taking office on January 20. According to CNN, the American delegation will include, in particular, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent․