Agenda for Trump's trip to the region: What is the purpose behind the claims regarding the Persian Gulf?

US President Donald Trump will travel to the region in the coming days, and Saudi Arabia will be his first destination in his second term as president.

According to American media reports, Trump will arrive in Saudi Arabia on May 13 and hold bilateral meetings; this meeting is scheduled for the morning of May 14.

After this meeting, Trump will travel to Doha to meet with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar; on May 15, he will travel to Abu Dhabi and meet with Mohammed bin Zayed, the President of the UAE.

American and Arab officials announced that Trump's trip to the three Persian Gulf countries will focus on bilateral issues, especially investment, arms sales, and cooperation in artificial intelligence.

In this regard, Amir Ali Abolfath, an expert on American affairs, explained the goals and agenda of this trip in an interview with Mizan.

The economic agenda of Trump's trip to the region

Abolfath, stating that the agenda of this trip is mostly economic, said: The agenda of this trip is a set of issues related to bilateral relations and has mostly economic goals; large economic contracts such as the previous trip to Saudi Arabia, where Trump signed a $110 billion contract.

He stated: Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, had said a few months ago that this country was ready to do hundreds of billions of dollars of trade with the Americans and invest in the United States.

The American affairs expert, referring to Trump's welcome of this proposal, stated: Trump proposed at that time that this amount should reach one trillion dollars, and the Saudis also agreed to it.

Emphasizing that the same is true for Qatar and the UAE, Abolfath stated: But these countries enter into economic relations at a lower level because their economies are smaller.

Pointing out that the economy is Trump's main goal of this trip, he said: Another issue of interest is oil; Trump is seeking to reduce oil prices.

Political aspects of Trump's trip to the region

The American affairs expert stated: In political discussions, Trump also hopes to be able to declare peace between the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia, meaning to bring them into the Abraham Accords.

He continued: But this issue depends on the Zionist regime whether it accepts the two-state solution or not, and since it does not accept this solution, this issue has currently been removed from the agenda of Trump's trip to the region.

Nuclear Cooperation between the US and Saudi Arabia

Abolfath said: Even the nuclear cooperation that exists between Saudi Arabia and the US was conditional on the Americans saying that they were willing to cooperate on nuclear matters with Saudi Arabia on the condition that Riyadh signs a peace agreement with the Zionist regime, and Saudi Arabia had also proposed that the Zionist regime accept a two-state solution to sign a peace agreement with the Zionist regime.

The US affairs expert continued: Since the Zionist regime does not accept a two-state solution, the condition that cooperation be conditional on normalizing relations with the regime has also been removed from the agenda, and the US does not impose any conditions.

He pointed out that this trip would probably also address nuclear cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the US. He said contracts would be written in this regard, and initial agreements would be made.

Referring to the problems in the nuclear cooperation between the US and Saudi Arabia, Abolfath said: One of the problems in this regard is that Saudi Arabia wants to have a fuel cycle, but the Americans are not going to submit to this request and say that Saudi Arabia must promise that it does not want a nuclear fuel cycle.

Possible consultation on discussions related to Iran in Saudi Arabia

The expert on US affairs stated that issues related to Iran will be raised in these talks, and stated: Trump intends to meet with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh, issues related to regional stability and security and the issue of Iran will also be raised, and these are the main issues that will be raised.

Claim of recognition of the state of Palestine by Trump

The expert on US affairs, referring to the claim of some media outlets that claimed that Trump intends to recognize an independent state of Palestine during this visit, stated: If this happens, it will be a major development; there is pessimism about this, and it is only speculation.

Claims about the Persian Gulf on the eve of Trump's visit to the region

Referring to the claims about the Persian Gulf on the eve of Donald Trump's visit to the region, Aboul-Fath stated: When the Associated Press made this claim, it could have been analyzed at the time as news-making, but when they interviewed Trump himself, he said that he had not decided in this regard.

He continued: Trump said that he would travel to the Middle East and that he would be asked about this issue in the Middle East, and he would have to make a decision.

The American expert stated: This means that there have been discussions within the US government and at various levels about whether this should be done as an example or not. This issue has probably been discussed. The Associated Press leaked this issue to test it, to make speculations in order to examine the reactions, and make a decision based on it.

Abolfath concluded by saying: Trump may do this. This issue is not ruled out because Trump himself has said that he has not yet decided on this issue. If he intended to oppose it, he would have immediately announced his opposition. With Trump's approach to the Gulf of Mexico, it is not unlikely that he will do this regarding the Persian Gulf.