Donald Trump’s Foreign Affairs Freeze Relations with Israel

Translated by Irene Cecchi

Donald Trump’s first international trip of his second term to the countries of the Persian Gulf (which, at the American president’s behest, will be renamed the Arabian Gulf, a name currently used by most Arab states) has been making headlines. It’s worth noting that this mirrors Trump’s first foreign trip during his previous term, revealing a clear and consistent direction in his foreign policy.

Accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump arrived in the Middle East with clear objectives: to secure trade deals on foreign investment and technological cooperation while attempting to distance himself from thorny regional conflicts, such as Israel’s campaign in Gaza and neighboring territories or the Houthi insurgency in Yemen. Amid multibillion-dollar deals and aircraft giveaways, attention must be paid to the political groundwork laid before the trip, efforts meant to pave the way for successful negotiations in a laid-down climate, even at the risk of upsetting someone else.

One striking point is the absence of Tel Aviv from Trump’s itinerary. Additionally, news broke that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had canceled a pre-arranged trip to Netanyahu’s Israel. While the American administration’s close ties to Israel undoubtedly influence negotiations in the Gulf —where many Arab nations historically oppose Israel and have openly denounced efforts to expel all Palestinian citizens from Gaza— Trump’s overtures to Arab states seem to be creating distance between the U.S. and its longtime ally. Several signs point to a cooling of relations between the two historic partners.

Before his trip, Trump chose to heed requests from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations to pursue a nuclear agreement with Iran. The goal was to prevent Israel’s hostility from escalating into a preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, potentially sparking a regional conflict in the name of national security.

Thanks to mediation by Oman’s Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi, both sides agreed to meet in Muscat, where a fourth round of nuclear negotiations took place, lasting three hours. U.S. envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff described the talks as encouraging, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called them “difficult but useful”, noting that they were more serious and direct than previous rounds, even though the two countries remain out of alignment.

The U.S. is demanding that Iran abandon uranium enrichment to prevent the development of a nuclear weapon, while Tehran denies any such intentions and refuses to halt its program. “Enrichment is an issue on which Iran will not back down, and there is no room for compromise. However, the scale, levels, or quantities may vary temporarily to help build trust” said Araghchi.

Despite their differences, American officials confirmed that an agreement had been reached to move on to more technical and less political negotiations, while the Iranian side stated that the fifth round would occur once the American and Iranian leaders meet face-to-face.

The sudden reopening of dialogue with one of Israel’s historic adversaries is not the only U.S. foreign policy move that may have strained relations between Trump and Netanyahu. Before boarding Air Force One, the United States also finalized a deal with Yemen’s Houthi militia that had been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians and recently launched missiles directly at Israeli territory. It’s worth recalling that Trump had designated the Houthis a terrorist organization during his first term, a label reversed by Joe Biden and reinstated by Trump in January 2025. The latest development represents an unexpected and abrupt change.According to the agreement, as confirmed by Oman (also acting as mediator in this case), the Houthis will cease attacks on Red Sea shipping in exchange for a halt to U.S. airstrikes in Yemen, which began this March on Trump’s orders.

However, a Houthi spokesperson clarified that the deal does not include the group’s attacks on Israel, which will continue despite most of the missiles launched since the conflict began having been intercepted by the Iron Dome, Israel’s missile defense system. The Yemeni spokesperson went further, calling the agreement a “victory that separates U.S. support from the temporary entity [referring to the State of Israel] and a failure for Netanyahu”.

Regardless of the Houthis’ rhetoric, which is clearly propagandistic, there is little doubt that a freeze in U.S.–Israel relations is occurring. Reportedly, Netanyahu’s administration was completely unaware of the U.S. agreements with Iran and the Houthis, highlighting the broad latitude Trump claims in defending American national interests abroad.

So far, Israel has not issued a harsh formal response to the American rapprochement with Gulf countries, but it has issued a warning. “If others —our American friends— join us, all the better” Netanyahu declared in a video posted online. “If they don’t, we will defend ourselves”. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz added “Israel must be able to defend itself against any threat and any enemy. That was the case with past challenges, and so it will remain for the future”.

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