Consolidating US interests in the West Asia and rallying allies in the region around the common threat posed by Iran seems to have overwhelmingly superseded concerns regarding reviving the deadlocked Israel- Palestinian peace talks during US President Donald Trump's first foreign trip, analysts said on Tuesday.
The much-publicised “ultimate deal” between Israel and Palestinians that Trump craves for has been put on the backburner with brief mention in the speeches by leaders while much of the attention was focused on Iran and the dangers it poses to US' allies in the region, providing them with enough reason to forget about their differences and work towards the common goal of denying Tehran the nuclear bomb, they said.
The Palestinian issue has at best received some lip service and a few goodwill gestures from Israel under US administration's influence ahead of Trump's meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday.
Continuing with the theme of isolating Tehran, a strong plea the US leader made with Arab leaders during his stay in Saudi Arabia, he went a notch higher in lashing out at the root of all evil during his meetings with Israeli leaders.
"The United States and Israel can declare with one voice that Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon - never ever - and must cease its deadly funding, training and equipping of terrorists and militias," Trump said in remarks at President Reuven Rivlin's residence here yesterday.
"It must cease immediately," he asserted.
later in the evening during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he lambasted the Islamic Republic by pointing out that its footprint were visible in every place that has suffered from terrorism in the West Asia.
"No matter where we go, whether it's Syria, where we were really forced to shoot the 59 missiles a few weeks ago. No matter what area we're in, we see Yemen, Iraq, no matter where we are, we see the signs, every sign, whether it's soldiers, whether it's money and guns, it's Iran" Trump stressed.