Trump’s Top Picks Signal Renewed U.S. Support For Israel, Tougher Stance On Iran

Former President Donald Trump is shaping the landscape of a foreign policy agenda that calls for further intensification of ties with Israel and steps up pressure against Iran. His appointments of three pro-Israel lawmakers to critical foreign policy positions buttressed his intentions of further building on his administration’s strong support for Israel, at the same time executing a hard line approach towards Iran.

Trump’s selections of key foreign policy personnel make it clear he is still pro-Israel after all. On Sunday, he nominated Representative Elise Stefanik from New York for United Nations Ambassador. The next day he named Representative Mike Waltz from Florida to be his National Security Advisor. And Senator Marco Rubio, also from Florida, is expected to become Secretary of State. These figures were long-time supporters of Israel and critics of Iran; therefore, it underscores what seems to be happening under Trump: this intention to continue his aggressive stance on both issues.

Stefanik believes she is prepared to go back to President Donald Trump’s “Maximum Pressure” campaign against Iran and thinks it will support U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East stronger. In fact, she wrote, “For too long, our enemies have been emboldened by the weakness of the Biden-Harris administration,” – an apparent stance on pushing back against Iran’s influence on the region.

More Stout Policy Regarding Israel And Iran

Trump’s foreign policy is likely to be more bolder on Iran than the current regime. During his previous term, Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and enforced a harsh sanctions regime on that country. On Iran, Trump has always been vocal and the former president recently went on record saying that the Jewish nation should strike first to stop Iran’s nuclear threat. It was within an October campaign rally when Trump publicly declared that Israel should concern itself with action targeted at Iran’s nuclear capabilities, which may be silently stage its level of patronage to Israeli military operations in this respect.

Trump’s foreign policy also appears to be one that is likely to center on strengthening the Abraham Accords – a landmark accord brokered under his administration, and which was the only intermediary arrangement to facilitate normalization between Israel and several Arab countries. Again, under perpetual strife in Gaza and Lebanon, Trump should give more leeway to Israel in dealing with the Iranian-backed militant groups. His latest talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have portrayed his continued support; Trump tells Netanyahu to “do what you have to do” against Iran and its proxies.

Trump Slams Biden’s Foreign Policy

The campaign of Donald Trump featured him throughout as an advocate of change in the U.S. foreign policy. He has been vocal about the approaches that President Joe Biden has been taking regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict and the situation in the broader Middle East, and saying that this has led to the decline in the power base of the United States and egged on Iran and its clientele to act with more audacity than ever before.

Trump could only cite one example of the failures of Biden’s foreign policy: the attack launched on Israel on October 7, in which more than 1,200 people lost their lives. He claims that under his administration, such an attack would have never happened as his approach of “maximum pressure” would have deterred Iranian and militant provocations.

Changing Dynamics With Israel And Middle East

Nowhere is this contrast more interestingly exemplified than on Israel and the Middle East. Even when Biden’s administration has still been supportive of Israel in the conflict with Hamas, the real concerns from that administration have been over the humanitarian crises within Gaza. Trump, at least, doesn’t seem interested in micromanaging Israel’s military policy, focusing instead on the broadest geopolitical goals-cum-ideals: improved security for Israel, countering Iran.

This could dramatically alter the status quo in the region, considering also Israel’s political dramatic turns. In the last few months, Finance Minister of Israel Bezalel Smotrich publicly stated that he thinks Israel should establish sovereignty over the West Bank. He claimed that he thinks Trump would eventually come around with that policy and that this was a crucial shift in U.S. policy under the next administration.

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