U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al Thani attend a signing ceremony at the Amiri Diwan, the official workplace of the emir, on May 14, 2025, in Doha, Qatar.
(Win McNamee / Getty Images)
On his latest trip to the Middle East, Donald Trump is making big news. He’s indicating a receptiveness to making a deal with Iran trading normalization for nuclear nonproliferation. He ended the bombing campaign against Yemen and is also pushing for normalization with Syria. Further, the White House has sidestepped Israel in order to have direct talks with Hamas. These moves have angered some hawks in the GOP as well as the Israeli government. But will Trump’s attempt to shift America’s policy in the Middle East pay off, especially given his record of erratic attention to details and sudden shifts in direction? To assess the situation, I spoke with Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute, who recently wrote about these matters for The American Conservative.
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