Has Trump escalated the conflict in the Middle East?
Trump sees himself as a peace maker and want to be regarded as one by others. In the case of the Middle East though, it is questionable if that is the case given the growing tensions and the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, where more than 70,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed by Israel. There are several actions taken by Trump that have contributed to the increased tension. In May 2018, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which had limited Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. then reimposed and expanded sanctions on Iran, adopting a maximum pressure campaign. Iran responded by gradually exceeding the deal’s uranium enrichment limits, prompting concerns about its proximity to developing nuclear weapons. As a result, in 2025, with the blessing from the Trump administration, bombed several nuclear sites in Iran.
Back in January 2020, a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad, ordered by Trump, killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force. The action was described as a defensive move against an imminent threat to American personnel, but this killing sharply escalated tensions, and Iran retaliated with a missile attack on U.S. military bases in Iraq. In 2019, Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, which had been fighting alongside Kurdish forces against ISIS. The move cleared the way for a Turkish military incursion against the Kurds, who had been key U.S. allies. Many saw this as a betrayal of U.S. allies that created a security vacuum, while some of Trump’s supporters lauded the move to end U.S. involvement.
As Israel mounts a major Gaza offensive, President Trump has neither urged restraint nor endorsed the action, which Israel’s leader has taken as an implicit green light to proceed. It is evident that Trump is not seeking peace and a sustainable solution, but the Jewish lobby in the U.S. has basically persuaded Trump to give Israel free hands to continue the killing and do what the see fit in Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians fled Gaza City on this week, ahead of Israel’s new offensive, which several major nations warned would risk prolonging the war and increase the number of deaths.
When Israel prepared in early 2024 to mount a military assault on the densely populated Gaza city of Rafah, Biden administration officials attempted to shape the operation, threatening to block the shipment of American weapons unless Israel developed a credible and executable plan to protect civilian lives. It has been a different story under President Trump as Israel began a punishing ground offensive into a densely populated Gaza City earlier this week.
As several major nations warned Israel about dire civilian casualties and the risk of prolonging the war in Gaza, Trump has been mostly a bystander, neither urging Israel to show restraint nor giving it his approval. Casting himself as a global peacemaker, Trump has repeatedly called for a stop to the nearly two-year Gaza war. But where he once publicly pressed Israel to end the conflict, he now appears content to look on as it escalates.
Because of the enormous leverage created by U.S. military aid and funding to Israel, only an American president could slow Mr. Netanyahu, and Mr. Trump’s inaction amounts to a free pass for the Israeli leader. Trump says that he still wants a cease-fire deal that would free the hostages remaining in Gaza. But he blamed Hamas for the war’s continuation. And he gave no hint that he shares the view of numerous Arab and Western governments that the Gaza City operation could jeopardize any remaining hopes for peace and the lives of the hostages.
As international outrage over Israel’s conduct of the Gaza war reaches a new crescendo, Trump has not criticized Netanyahu’s strategy in Gaza recently. He has even begun to suggest that no deal with Hamas is or ever was possible. Last month, Trump shrugged at the idea that Israel might fully occupy Gaza, in further defiance of most Western governments.
Trump may also see mostly political downside in challenging Netanyahu, a near-heroic figure among many Republicans. When it comes to Gaza, the only real separation Trump has allowed between himself and Netanyahu of late has come over reports of starving Palestinian children. That led Mr. Trump to insist in late July that Israel allow more aid into the territory, rebuffing Mr. Netanyahu’s claims that reports of hunger are exaggerated and that Hamas is to blame for food shortages.
The United Nations General Assembly hosts its annual gathering this week in New York City, and several close U.S. allies, including France, Australia, Canada and Britain, have recognized a Palestinian state. Though such a move would be mainly symbolic, it is infuriating to Israel, where right-wing leaders are threatening to respond by annexing parts of the West Bank. Annexation might also be enough to rupture the relationships Israel has formed with some of its key Arab neighbors in recent years, and has maintained despite the strain of the war in Gaza.
Trump’s laissez faire approach vis-à-vis Israel has given the rogue nation power to conduct themselves without restraints in the Gaza Strip. This will continue the genocide, but the problems go beyond that. The domestic state of Israel is basically an apartheid regime, where the Palestinians have no or limited rights. Trump has contributed to the escalation of the conflict and Israel will continue without any mercy or any attempts to find a lasting peace where also Palestinians can live peacefully with adequate human rights.