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Trump’s Middle East Tour: Sanctions Lifted, Hands Shaken, Chaos Ensues
Diplomacy as theater. Geopolitics as PR. And the world just watches.
Trump’s latest Middle East tour isn’t just foreign policy — it’s spectacle. He’s back in the Gulf, getting showered with gifts, walking red carpets, and lifting sanctions like it’s a reality show prize reveal. A new private jet from the Saudis. A photo-op with Syria’s new president — yes, the one who used to be labeled a terrorist by the same U.S. government Trump now represents.
Trump called him a “strong, attractive guy.” Really.
Behind the applause, there’s a tectonic shift underway — and Washington’s old playbook has been thrown out the window.
Skipping Israel, Embracing Syria
This time, Trump skipped Tel Aviv. Instead, he flew straight to the Gulf — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE. That alone says something. No stop in Jerusalem. No public hand-holding with Netanyahu.
Instead, he met with Syria’s new president, Ahmed Ashara — a former jihadi, now rebranded as a “leader worth talking to.” And not just that. Trump lifted all U.S. sanctions on Syria. No warnings. No conditions. Just a clean slate, presumably because the applause in the palace was loud enough.
