Highly transactional relationships are part of global order under Trumppublished at 00:26 BST 23 July
Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent
President Donald Trump and his administration’s foreign policy is based on self interest more than any desire to build an international system of values and its nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia should be seen in that context.
Washington’s relationship with the Kingdom has traditionally been weighed against America’s broader policy goals for the region. Saudi Arabia has long wanted American expertise and backing for a civilian nuclear programme as well as military equipment and a security pact.
In return, Washington had a single major demand: recognise Israel, their key ally, and normalise diplomatic and economic relations. Saudi Arabia’s long-standing policy is that it would recognise Israel only when it ended its military occupation of the Palestinian territories, allowing self-determination and an independent state.
Over the years, Saudi Arabia eventually lowered its price, severing the link between its readiness to recognise Israel and its demand for the two state solution.
The Biden administration was ready to do this deal by summer 2023. But the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s war on Gaza smashed any prospect of this.
Trump’s readiness to drop the Palestinians and Israelis, at least as far as the nuclear file is concerned, shows how far Washington’s position has evolved.
Bilateral, highly transactional relations are the global order of the day under Trump. Alongside the US war with Iran, all this is further re-ordering the Middle East leaving its states and peoples even more suspicious and concerned for their security.
