Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump waves at an election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida. AFP
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump waves at an election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida. AFP

2025 - The return of Donald Trump

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Updated 19 April 2025
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2025 - The return of Donald Trump

2025 - The return of Donald Trump
  • The master of ‘shock and awe’ has once again made the Middle East a priority

WASHINGTON D.C.: For a newspaper covering the Middle East, there is no shortage of moments vying for selection as the most significant news event of 2025.

Scarcely a day passes without a fresh development in the ongoing conflict triggered by the Hamas terror attack on Israel in October 2023, which inaugurated a cascade of tragedies throughout the region.

Hamas continues to hold Israelis hostage, keeping them and their families suffering unspeakably. Hamas’s refusal to turn the hostages over and surrender has trapped civilians in war’s crossfire, effectively holding Gazans hostage too, rather than allowing Gaza to rebuild free from the grip and tyranny of terrorists. Tens of thousands of civilians have lost their lives.

Yet what has transpired in America may soon be seen by historians and geopolitical analysts alike as the most significant event to have taken place in 2025 — with seismic repercussions for the Middle East and, indeed, the entire world.

It does not minimize the importance of the latest in a series of generational tragedies ensnaring Palestinians and Israelis, to suggest that a political event that took place more than 9,500 kilometers away is itself a generational story.

From a purely American perspective, the inauguration and return to the White House of Donald J. Trump on Jan. 20 this year was, without doubt, the single most remarkable political comeback in US history.

Elected president for the first time in November 2016, Trump’s political career appeared finished — at least to his detractors — when Democratic candidate Joe Biden was sworn in on Jan. 20, 2021.

How we wrote it




With the flashy headline “He’s Back,” Arab News featured Donald Trump’s win, leading with Arab leaders’ congratulations.

Trump, however, then did what only one other American president has done before. Returning to the fray, in November 2024 he handily defeated Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee and, in so doing, became only the second president, after Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century, to win two non-consecutive terms of office.

In January this year, buoyed by his large Electoral College victory and popular vote mandate — and with the Republican party, now largely shaped in his image, controlling both houses of Congress — President Trump hit the ground running. His four years out of power allowed him to further hone and develop the ideas and policies that would build on the successes of his first term.

His first two months back in the Oval Office have been a blur of activity that has left observers at home and abroad stunned, some frustrated and many impressed. World leaders are scrambling to understand and adapt to a dynamic new US administration determined to put America, and Americans, first in all things. Perhaps these observers and leaders forgot that this was what Trump said he would do, and that it is his job.

On March 10, the White House issued a statement titled “50 wins in 50 days,” highlighting Trump’s achievements to date. Many of these were, of course, domestic in nature, addressing concerns close to the heart of his support base: controlling immigration; cutting bureaucratic red tape, waste and fraud; appointing Elon Musk to run a new Department of Government Efficiency; ending federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and much more.

But ever since his first term, when he ushered in the Abraham Accords, Trump has harbored a determination to bring peace to the Middle East — or at least those parts of the Middle East in which that is realistically achievable — and in 2025 he has wasted no time returning to that ambition.

Key Dates

  • 1

    Trump produces and stars in reality TV series ‘The Apprentice,’ in which contestants compete to earn his approval and land a job with a 6-figure salary in his organization.

    Timeline Image Jan. 8, 2004

  • 2

    Trump declared US president after defeating Democrat rival Hilary Trump declared US president after defeating Democrat rival Hilary Clinton with 57.2 percent of Electoral College vote.

    Timeline Image Nov. 8, 2016

  • 3

    Trump visits Saudi Arabia at start of his first international trip as president. He meets King Salman, as well as Arab and GCC leaders.

    Timeline Image May 20, 2017

  • 4

    Trump recognizes Jerusalem as capital of Israel, moves the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv.

    Timeline Image Dec. 6, 2017

  • 5

    US withdraws from the Iran nuclear deal, which aimed to restrict the country’s nuclear-research program in exchange for sanctions relief.

  • 6

    Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani killed by US drone strike in Baghdad, a mission ordered by Trump.

    Timeline Image Jan 3, 2020

  • 7

    Trump poses with Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the three countries normalize relations in historic Abraham Accords. Morocco follows suit in December, and Sudan in January 2021.

    Timeline Image Sept. 15, 2020

  • 8

    Trump wins second term in historic comeback that defies impeachments and felony convictions.

    Timeline Image Nov. 4, 2024

During those first 50 days, President Trump restored pressure on Iran; redesignated the Houthis in Yemen as terrorists, unleashing a series of airstrikes to end their attacks on Red Sea shipping; and proposed a bold plan for peace and prosperity in Gaza.

Since the president’s return to office, one of the major questions surrounding his administration has been how it will handle foreign affairs. There are, of course, many factors at play, including the extraordinary complexity of regions experiencing conflict.

But having served as his envoy to Middle East during his first term, and having worked closely with him for 20 years prior to that, I have observed how the fundamental approach that defines President Trump’s diplomatic philosophy remains consistent: speak truth even when others are mired in diplomatic platitudes, envision deals that provide all parties with realistic achievements, and focus on what they truly need rather than what they publicly demand or what their leaders promise.

President Trump approaches problems from a realistic perspective and seeks to fix them, not to adhere to conventions. He deals with the here and now, not the state of the world years ago, nor as we wish it to be. He treats conventional wisdom as a reflection of possibly outdated truths.

I witnessed firsthand how conventional wisdom can become an obstacle to progress, particularly when it calcifies into dogma that resists adjustment.

I still recall the skepticism that preceded our efforts on the Abraham Accords. John Kerry, the former US secretary of state, exemplified the entrenched thinking dominating Middle East diplomacy with his dismissive “no, no, no” regarding the question of whether Arab-Israeli peace was possible without first resolving the Palestinian issue. He had mistaken an unscientific consensus for an immutable truth.

By ignoring failed consensuses and focusing instead on shared interests and possibilities, President Trump proved Kerry wrong, wrong, wrong.

This success was not accidental but resulted from President Trump’s deliberate strategy of challenging assumptions, speaking honestly about realities on the ground, and letting new thinking flourish.




Trump is rushed offstage during his presidential campaign’s Pennsylvania rally after an assassination attempt. Getty Images

For today’s challenges, particularly the devastating Russia-Ukraine war, this approach offers great promise.

Bringing in new US partners as conflict mediators is a valuable element of Trump’s global strategy. Saudi Arabia’s emerging role as a diplomatic broker presents an opportunity that aligns with President Trump’s preference for unconventional pathways to peace.

Nations without the historical baggage of failed negotiations can secure trust and buy-in from opposing sides precisely because they represent a clean slate. The Saudis, and the leaders of other Gulf states, such as the UAE and Qatar, are also generally immune to the Western condition of calcified dogma, allowing them to think more pragmatically on many issues.

Within the Middle East, the core American interests remain clear: foster peace between nations, combat terrorism, and contain disorder. I expect President Trump to seek opportunities for the reduction and elimination of regional conflicts with pragmatic optimism, and I am optimistic about the potential for breakthroughs precisely because his plain truths force potential partners to snap out of diplomatic complacency.

There are areas of the Middle East, such as Lebanon and Syria, where Trump’s methods might finally help them turn the corner and build a better future. It has been decades since that was even a possibility.

Sometimes, meaningful progress requires disrupting expectations. In diplomacy, the most profound achievements often come not from refining existing processes but from fundamentally reimagining what is possible.

My money is on Trump knowing how to put the pieces together. He simply gets things done.

Will Donald Trump’s return to the White House still appear to have been the most significant event of 2025 when this year draws to a close? I think so. I think it will be the most significant event for many years to come, both domestically and abroad.

As the White House statement on March 10 noted, “President Trump is just getting started.”

  • Jason Greenblatt was the White House Middle East envoy in the first Trump administration. He is the author of the widely acclaimed book ‘In the Path of Abraham,’ and director of Arab-Israel diplomacy for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.


Ending war in Gaza is ‘Trump’s utmost priority’

Ending war in Gaza is ‘Trump’s utmost priority’
Updated 4 min 11 sec ago
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Ending war in Gaza is ‘Trump’s utmost priority’

Ending war in Gaza is ‘Trump’s utmost priority’
  • Israel’s refusal to allow free and safe entry of aid is key sticking point in Doha truce talks

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s “utmost priority” is to end the war in Gaza and free hostages held by Hamas, the White House said on Monday before a crucial meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will this week travel to Qatar, where Israel and Hamas are holding indirect talks. Israel’s refusal to allow the free and safe entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza remains the main obstacle to progress in the ceasefire talks in Doha, Palestinian sources said. Mediators hosted two more rounds of discussions on Monday. 

The US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely.
Hamas has long demanded a final end to the war before it would free remaining hostages, but Israel will not halt fighting until all hostages are free and Hamas dismantled. Trump said last week that he would be “very firm” with Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza deal.
However, Israel has intensified its military campaign in Gaza and sharply restricted food distribution. “God willing, a truce will take place,” Mohammed Al-Sawalheh, 30, from Jabaliya in northern Gaza, said on Monday after another Israeli air strike. “We cannot see a truce while people are dying. We want a truce that will stop this bloodshed.”


Jannik Sinner reaches the Wimbledon quarterfinals despite a bad elbow when an injured Dimitrov stops

Jannik Sinner reaches the Wimbledon quarterfinals despite a bad elbow when an injured Dimitrov stops
Updated 10 min 21 sec ago
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Jannik Sinner reaches the Wimbledon quarterfinals despite a bad elbow when an injured Dimitrov stops

Jannik Sinner reaches the Wimbledon quarterfinals despite a bad elbow when an injured Dimitrov stops
  • Sinner entered Monday having lost a total of just 17 games in the tournament

LONDON: Jannik Sinner advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals despite hurting his right elbow in a fall and dropping the first two sets Monday night, because his opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, had to quit with an injured pectoral muscle.
The No. 1-seeded Sinner hadn’t dropped a set in the tournament until falling behind No. 19 Dimitrov 6-3, 7-5. But at 2-all in the third set, Dimitrov stopped playing.
It’s the fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament where the 34-year-old Dimitrov failed to complete a match. He also did it at the Australian Open in January and the French Open in May, plus last year’s Wimbledon and US Open.
“He’s been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player. A good friend of mine, also. We understand each other very well, off the court, too,” Sinner said. “I hope he has a speedy recovery.”
On the last point against Sinner, Dimitrov served and immediately clutched his chest with his left hand. He took a few steps and crouched, before sitting on the grass. Sinner walked over to that side of the court to check on him.
“My pec,” Dimitrov told Sinner.
Dimitrov — a three-time major semifinalist, including at Wimbledon in 2014 — then went to the sideline, sat in his chair and was checked by a trainer and doctor. As Dimitrov talked with them, Sinner knelt nearby. After a delay of a few minutes, Dimitrov walked toward the locker room with the medical personnel.
Soon, he reemerged and said he couldn’t continue.
“I don’t take this as a win, at all,” Sinner said. “This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us.”
Two hours earlier, it was Sinner down on the ground and seemingly in trouble. He was hurt in the opening game, when his foot gave out from under him and he slipped and fell behind a baseline, bracing his fall with his right hand while still holding his racket.
During a medical timeout while trailing 3-2 in the second set, Sinner winced as a trainer massaged the elbow. Sinner’s coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, looked on from their box with concern.
Sinner was given a pill to take and play resumed. He frequently shook his right arm or rubbed his elbow between points.
The 23-year-old Italian is a three-time Grand Slam champion who will play No. 10 Ben Shelton of the United States for a berth in the semifinals. Sinner leads the head-to-head series 5-1 and has won their past five matches, all in straight sets, including at Wimbledon last year and the Australian Open this year.
Sinner entered Monday having lost a total of just 17 games in the tournament, tying the record for the fewest in the Open era by man at Wimbledon through three completed matches.
Right after he fell behind by two sets against Dimitrov, the match was paused so the stadium’s retractable roof could be closed because of fading sunlight.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray was not a fan of that decision, writing on social media: “So ridiculous to close the roof at this stage of the match. At least an hour of light left….well over a set of tennis can still be played..its an outdoor tournament!”
About a half-hour later, the match was over.
 


Syrian wildfires spread for fifth day due to heavy winds and war remnants

Syrian wildfires spread for fifth day due to heavy winds and war remnants
Updated 10 min 10 sec ago
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Syrian wildfires spread for fifth day due to heavy winds and war remnants

Syrian wildfires spread for fifth day due to heavy winds and war remnants
  • The fires have proven difficult to bring under control despite reinforcements from Jordan, Turkiye and Lebanon

LATAKIA: Syrian firefighters are facing heavy winds, high temperatures and ordnance left behind from the 13-year civil war as they try to extinguish some of country’s worst wildfires in years for the fifth day, a government minister said Monday.
The fires, which started last week, have proven difficult to bring under control despite reinforcements from Jordan, Turkiye and Lebanon that came to the war-torn country to help Syrian teams fight the blaze.
Syrian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed Al-Saleh said their main challenges are two locations in the coastal province of Latakia that they have been trying to control for two days.
“We have controlled other locations,” Al-Saleh told The Associated Press at the scene.
On the second day of the fire, firefighters managed to get 90 percent of the wildfires under control but explosions of left-over war ordnance and heavy winds helped spread the fires again, Al-Saleh said. He added that 120 teams are fighting the blazes.
On Monday, the Lebanese army said it sent two helicopters to help fight the fires in coordination with Syrian authorities.
Over the weekend, UN teams deployed to the Syrian coast where they are conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the damage and to identify the most immediate humanitarian needs.
Summer fires are common in the eastern Mediterranean region, where experts warn that climate change is intensifying conditions that then lead to blazes.
Also, below-average rainfall over the winter left Syrians struggling with water shortages this summer, as the springs and rivers that normally supply much of the population with drinking water have gone dry.


What We Are Reading Today: Ridding the World of Landmines

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Updated 53 min 42 sec ago
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What We Are Reading Today: Ridding the World of Landmines

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  • Afghanistan and Angola are two of the countries, among other nations, with a large number of landmines

Authors: Kjell Bjork

This book offers a study on how global treaties can be used to establish successful national programs concerned with mine action programs, focusing on the capacity of world governments to implement the convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines. 

Afghanistan and Angola are two of the countries, among other nations, with a large number of landmines. 

This book sets out to answer the research considering the disparate levels of success among countries committed to implementing the Mine Ban Treaty, according to a review on goodreads.com.

 


Epstein died by suicide, did not have ‘client list’: FBI and Justice Department say

Epstein died by suicide, did not have ‘client list’: FBI and Justice Department say
Updated 57 min 14 sec ago
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Epstein died by suicide, did not have ‘client list’: FBI and Justice Department say

Epstein died by suicide, did not have ‘client list’: FBI and Justice Department say
  • A joint memorandum by the FBI and Justice Department on Monday have debunked notable conspiracy theories about Epstein
  • The disgraced US financier died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking

WASHINGTON: Jeffrey Epstein was not murdered, did not blackmail prominent figures and did not keep a “client list,” the FBI and Justice Department said Monday, debunking notable conspiracy theories about the disgraced US financier.
The conclusions came after an “exhaustive review” of the evidence amassed against Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking, the agencies said in a joint memorandum.
Six years later, questions continue to swirl around Epstein’s life and death and the multi-millionaire hedge fund manager’s connections to wealthy and powerful individuals.
The memo, first reported by Axios, squarely rejected one of the leading conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein — that he did not commit suicide but was murdered while being held in jail.
“After a thorough investigation, FBI investigators concluded that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in his cell,” it said.
Video footage from the area where he was being held did not show anyone entering or attempting to enter his cell from the time at night when he was locked in till when his body was found the next morning, it said.
Extensive digital and physical searches turned up a large volume of images and videos of Epstein’s victims, many of them underage girls, the memo said.
“This review confirmed that Epstein harmed over one thousand victims,” it said, but did not reveal any illegal wrongdoing by “third-parties.”
“This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list,’” the memo said. “There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.”
Epstein’s former assistant, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the only former associate of his who has been criminally charged in connection with his activities.
Maxwell, the daughter of British media baron Robert Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in New York in 2021 of child sex trafficking and other crimes.
Among those with connections to Epstein was Britain’s Prince Andrew, who settled a US civil case in February 2022 brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17.
Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, committed suicide at her home in Australia in April.
Billionaire Elon Musk accused President Donald Trump on X last month of being in the “Epstein files” after the pair had a falling out, but he later deleted his posts.
Trump was named in a trove of depositions and statements linked to Epstein that were unsealed by a New York judge in early 2024, but the president has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Supporters on the conspiratorial end of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base allege that Epstein’s associates had their roles in his crimes covered up by government officials and others.
They point the finger at Democrats and Hollywood celebrities, although not at Trump himself.
Prior to the release of the memo, Trump’s FBI director, Kash Patel, and the FBI’s deputy director, Dan Bongino, had been among the most prominent peddlers of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein.