Geopolitical shift in ME

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump is doing what he does best: keeping the world guessing with his puzzling declarations. He has rejected Iran’s latest proposal for peace talks, stating, “I don’t like it”. He has also threatened Iran with more strikes. He claims the ceasefire is now on “massive life support”. At the same time, he has asserted that he has achieved all his war objectives. What are we to make of such, often conflicting, statements? One thing that can be deduced from Trump’s declarations is that there is not going to be an end to one of the most consequential conflicts in recent history anytime soon. Interestingly, Trump’s public rejection of Iran’s peace proposal reportedly followed a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking to an American TV channel, Netanyahu warned that the war was not over and nuclear material still had to be taken out of Iran. According to him, “If necessary, we [the US and Israel] can re-engage them [Iran] militarily”. This reinforces suspicions that Israel is not in favour of any peace talks with Iran and is pushing the American president to end the ceasefire, just as it pressed him to launch the war. The ceasefire meant to facilitate peace talks came into effect in April and has been largely observed despite exchanges of fire and reports of strikes in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively continued to block. Meanwhile, Israel continues its bombing of Lebanon in blatant violation of the ceasefire there and is busy extending its borders. A prolonged conflict will have far-reaching implications for regional geopolitics, sharpening the divisions among Gulf countries that are directly affected by the tensions. The Gulf countries that have been closely aligned with the US seem to be divided over the growing perception that Trump is fighting Israel’s war. These countries were left vulnerable as Iran targeted American interests in the region. The divide became more apparent as some nations emp