In an era where symbolism often overshadows substance, the idea of awarding Donald J. Trump the Nobel Peace Prize can be dismissed as political theater. Yet such dismissal risks overlooking a complex, inconvenient truth: Trump’s Middle East policy produced one of the most significant realignments in regional geopolitics in generations.
From the crossroads of tradition and modernity in Casablanca to the high-rises of Dubai, from the diplomatic salons of Washington to the tech corridors of Tel Aviv, I have witnessed a subtle but profound shift. In places once defined by enmity and suspicion, there is now a cautious but growing openness—to new alliances, to regional stability, and yes, to the role Donald Trump played in shaping this emerging architecture.
At the heart of this shift are the Abraham Accords—a diplomatic breakthrough that saw formal normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and Kosovo. For decades, conventional wisdom held that no Arab state would normalize ties with Israel until the Palestinian issue was resolved. Trump’s administration broke with that orthodoxy, favoring pragmatic engagement, quiet diplomacy, and mutual economic incentives over symbolic declarations. The result was not merely a photo-op, but a structural realignment that many in the region had privately longed for but publicly deemed impossible.
Critics dismissed the Accords as transactional or superficial. Yet five years on, the results are tangible. Trade between Israel and the UAE alone reached over $2 billion in 2022, with projections growing annually. Joint investment funds, tourism, and academic exchanges have emerged. These agreements are slowly reshaping public opinion. A new generation in the Arab world is beginning to see peace with Israel not as betrayal—but as opportunity. These are not hollow treaties; they are active partnerships.
The Abraham Accords are the opening act in regional normalization. Several other countries are now watching and waiting, many signaling they are prepared to take the next step once the war in Gaza concludes. Saudi Arabia remains at the center of this possibility. But it is not alone. Nations like Mauritania, Lebanon, and even Syria – long considered a hardened holdout – are re-evaluating their posture. What drives this shift is not just geopolitical calculation, but the growing realization among Arab leaders that their people want stability, prosperity, and global integration. The architecture that Trump helped build has created the foundation for a wider, lasting peace.
Equally consequential was Trump’s approach to Iran. He gave Tehran time and clear deadlines to return to the negotiating table. But when Iranian leaders miscalculated, assuming he would avoid confrontation for political reasons, he acted. In 2019, Trump ordered the targeted strike on Qassem Soleimani, the mastermind of Iran’s regional proxy network. It was a calibrated show of strength that sent an unmistakable message: American red lines are enforceable, not rhetorical.
That message carried into his second term. In 2025, following continued nuclear escalation by Tehran, Trump authorized limited but decisive strikes against key Iranian nuclear facilities. The objective was not regime change, but to degrade Iran’s most dangerous capabilities without plunging the region into war. His critics expected chaos; instead, they saw a doctrine of controlled pressure—decisive force paired with strategic restraint. The results were measurable: Iran’s economy further deteriorated, its proxies weakened, and its ambitions curbed by deterrence rather than declarations.
Some may argue that this approach increased regional tensions. Yet today, Iran’s proxies -Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis – are more isolated and under greater financial strain. Iran itself faces internal unrest and economic deterioration. Whether one agrees with the strategy or not, its effects are measurable.
Trump’s relationship with Israel was marked by robust support, from recognizing Jerusalem as the capital and increasing military aid to affirming Israel’s right to self-defense. When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Trump’s closest international ally, who understands American politics as few foreign leaders do—launched counterterror operations, Trump stood firmly by Israel. But he also understood when to quietly urge restraint. Loyalty, in Trump’s view, does not mean surrendering strategic judgment.
Trump’s diplomatic breakthroughs required a deliberate rethinking of how diplomacy could be done. Traditional foreign policy elites long dismissed the idea of Arab-Israeli normalization without first resolving the Palestinian issue. Trump rejected that sequencing. He empowered a small team of trusted advisers, most notably Jared Kushner, to bypass layers of bureaucratic inertia and pursue direct, results-oriented negotiations.
That model continues. Today, figures like Steven Witkoff, a shrewd businessman and loyal Trump confidant, advance normalization efforts in a style that mirrors Trump’s own: pragmatic, focused on deliverables. In Africa, another Trump emissary, Massad Fares Boulos, played a central role in brokering a peace agreement between Congo and Rwanda, which drew little media fanfare but is of immense regional significance.
Trump’s approach was not to dismantle US diplomacy, but to recalibrate it—bridging personal initiative with institutional strength. And where traditional, multilateral efforts had stalled for decades, this strategy delivered concrete outcomes.
Of course, the story is not complete. Iran continues to destabilize its neighbors. The road ahead is uncertain. But that does not diminish what has been achieved. Progress in diplomacy is often partial and uneven but is no less worthy of recognition.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded in the past for both hopeful intentions and concrete outcomes. President Barack Obama received the prize in 2009 less for accomplishments than for aspirations. In contrast, Trump’s record in the Middle East produced durable agreements and a new framework for cooperation between former adversaries.
Awarding Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize would affirm that genuine breakthroughs in diplomacy are sometimes achieved not by following precedent, but by challenging it. Trump defied the assumptions that paralyzed Middle East peace efforts for decades and in doing so, reshaped the region’s diplomatic landscape in ways few thought possible.
The Middle East has long been a graveyard of diplomatic illusions. Trump did not solve all its problems. But he opened a new path, however narrow or contested, that leads toward greater peace and stability. His legacy in the region is not a mirage. It is visible on the ground, etched in treaties, and alive in the aspirations of a new generation.
For that, he deserves more than political acknowledgment. He deserves history’s recognition and the Nobel Peace Prize.
