Trump administration planning post-war Middle East strategy - report

The Trump administration is developing a post-war Middle East strategy focused on containing Iran through regional cooperation and expanding normalization between Israel and its neighbors, Axios reported Friday.

The strategy remains in the early drafting stage and is intended to shape US policy after the Iran war and during the final two years of Trump's term, the report said, adding that planning is underway at both senior political and interagency levels.

President Donald Trump has also discussed the strategy with senior advisers in two recent meetings and has privately described his plans as "something much bigger" in the Middle East.

Three possible priorities have reportedly emerged: building a regional alliance of US partners to contain Iran, with Washington serving as guarantor; addressing issues stemming from the Oct. 7 attacks, including the next phase of Trump's ceasefire plan for Gaza, a security agreement between Israel and Syria, and implementation of the Israel-Lebanon agreement; and expanding the Abraham Accords through a potential Saudi-Israeli normalization deal.

The report said Israel's Oct. 27 elections and the November US midterms are important considerations. The administration hopes Israel's next government will support the strategy, but officials reportedly said Trump intends to pursue it regardless of the election outcome, including in the event of political deadlock.

A source briefed on the process said drafting could take several more weeks. "They are cooking it but it is not yet cooked," the source said.

"The idea is to tie a whole lot of things in the region together — how you create a regional alignment after the war. It is still unclear if all U.S. allies in the region will be on board," the person added.