US President Donald Trump on Monday left for Saudi Arabia on what he called a ‘historic’ tour of the Middle East that will mix urgent diplomacy on Gaza and Iran with huge business deals.Air Force One took off on a journey that will include visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — and possibly talks in Turkiye on the Ukraine war. Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza will hang heavy over the first major tour of Trump's second term. Trump said there were ‘very good things happening’ on talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran's nuclear ambitions — though he added that Iran ‘can't have a nuclear weapon.’The US president said that he hoped for more developments on Gaza during his trip to the Gulf, noting that his tour involved ‘three primary countries’ in the region. ‘I hope that we're going to have other hostages released too,’ he said. Qatar has played a key role as a middleman in talks on ending the war. Trump's decision to once more bypass traditional Western allies to visit the oil-rich Gulf states underscores their pivotal geopolitical role.
