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The overall picture emerging from Trump’s first day and his overall doctrine is that he wants to reverse what he sees are mistakes from the last four years.
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN JANUARY 21, 2025 10:26
Steve Wiltkof (left), Donald Trump (center), and Mike Huckabee (right), the incoming US administrations Middle East team (illustrative).
(photo credit: baumsaway from Getty Images Signature via Canva Pro, REUTERS/BRIAN SNYDER, REUTERS/OCTAVIO JONES)
US President Donald Trump signed a raft of executive orders as he took office on January 20. The signing of various orders continued throughout the day. Many of the decisions relate to domestic US policy, such as immigration. However some of the decisions relate directly to Middle East policy or indirectly.
The decisions that so far relate to Israel and the Middle East can be divided into those that are aimed at rescinding Biden administration policies, or reinstating policies from the first Trump administration. There are also orders that are new and seek to deal with recent threats, such as the threat from drug cartels. These orders may not all relate directly to the Middle East but they may have connections because drug cartels sometimes have connections to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.
One of the executive orders relates to protecting the US from foreign terrorists, which can be seen as bolstering the US focus on terrorist groups such as Hamas and their supporters in the US. This is important because groups like Hamas and Hezbollah are increasingly global in their attempt to influence policy in the West. The war on Israel launched by Hamas on October 7 was not only an attack on Israel. It also involved attacks on US forces in Iraq, Syria and Jordan. It also led to attacks on shipping and also threats in the West. The moves by Trump against terrorists is seen as potentially having the affect of confronting Hamas supporters in the US. It is not clear if this is how these decisions can and will be used, but it may put the Hamas backers on notice.
Another Trump order has revoked several Biden era decisions. One of those relates to Executive Order 14115 which had been used to sanction individual Israelis. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote “I sincerely thank President Donald Trump for his just decision to lift the sanctions imposed by the Biden administration against settlers and activists in right-wing organizations.”
Implications for Middle East
Another order cancelled a Biden era decision that had reversed sanctions on the International Criminal Court. The ICC has targeted Israel in the last year. In addition it appears the administration may move to pause funding for UNRWA, as it had done in the previous Trump term. Another expected decision will reverse a Biden-era decision that had paused delivery of 2,000lb bombs to Israel. In these cases the decisions by the incoming US president were aimed at reversing decisions, rather than putting in place new policies.
In another decision that may have tangential implications for Middle East policy, Trump wrote on social media that he had fired “Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars.” The decision was part of a wider push to identity and remove “over a thousand” presidential appointees who are not “aligned with our vision,” Trump wrote on social media. Hook was well known in the first Trump administration as the envoy on Iran issues. In November 2024 it was reported he was involved with the transition team, however that involvement apparently ended quickly, Politico reported in early January.
Another decision that took place in the first 24 hours of the Trump presidency was the confirmation of Marco Rubio as the incoming Secretary of State. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed the news. “Congratulations to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on your confirmation. You have been a steadfast friend of Israel, unwavering in your support for many years. There is much to do and I look forward to working closely together to elevate the great alliance between Israel and the U.S.” This is important because Rubio is a friend of Israel and also has important policy views on the wider Middle East in terms of hitting the ground running to put in place necessary US policies. Rubio’s confirmation was also welcomed by Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Barzani recently was in the UAE and Jordan shoring up the Kurdistan region’s ties in the Middle East. The Kurdistan region will want to have close US support in coming years, a key pillar of US policy in the region.
A number of statements by Trump during the first 24 hours also reflect Middle East expectations. He said that he expects Saudi Arabia “will end up being in the Abraham Accords.” Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the US Reema Bandar Al-Saud congratulated President Trump in a post after attending the inauguration. “The relationship between our two countries is historic and we look forward to continuing our work together for the benefit of both our peoples, our region,” she wrote.
Trump also made some comments about Gaza on January 20. He said the area would need to be rebuilt after being turned into a “massive demolition site” in the war. He noted how Hamas had misruled the area but also said that Gaza has a phenomenal location on the water, implying it could look to a brighter future. Trump has been paying close attention to the hostage deal, and former hostage Noa Argamani was at one of the inauguration events on January 20 where Trump spoke.
The overall picture emerging from Trump’s first day and his overall doctrine is that he wants to reverse what he sees are mistakes from the last four years. In terms of overall policy the administration wants to see more peace and stability in the region but it is also clear that when it comes to enacting policies, such as if Israel returns to fighting in Gaza, that is a decision Israel will have to make, the administration is not seeking to be bellicose.
English (US) ·